CLEVELAND — After months of negotiations, the City of Cleveland and the two main police unions have reached an agreement aimed at retaining the city's police officers.
Veteran officers will receive a 14% pay increase, and officers will move to 12-hour shifts.
Mayor Justin Bibb and union leaders made the announcement at the city's First District Headquarters during a news conference Friday morning.
The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, which represents patrol officers, and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 8, which represents police supervisors, reached an agreement after Cleveland lost 653 officers since January 2020.
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As of Wednesday, 133 police officers have left the department so far this year. A little more than half of the officers who left resigned.
Longer hours
CPPA President Jeff Follmer admitted some officers opposed the switch to 12-hour shifts.
However, Follmer said the longer shifts are an attempt to help the city manage its lack of staff. Officers have told News 5 they are often forced to work 16-hour days and longer due to short-staffing.
"Right now, what our officers are doing is not healthy," Follmer said. "This is an attempt to fix the problem."
Bibb said the city and unions also agreed to review the impact of 12-hour shifts one year after it takes effect.
Pay raise
Bibb said experienced officers will receive a 14% increase in pay under the new agreement.
The city negotiated an 11% increase over three years with the union last year.
In 2022, the maximum salary a Cleveland patrol officer could earn was $67,619.48.
In 2024, the maximum will increase to more than $84,000.
"We are not going to spare any expense to keep our city safe," Bibb said. "Today shows a testament to that commitment on behalf of our administration."
The city has already agreed to boost cadet pay from $16 to $24 an hour, offered a signing bonus, and financial incentives to recruits with military or college experience.
