Evanston Union/Archival
 Evanston Unit Negotiates 4.8% Salary Increase.IPSN 1990 It took intense negotiation and at least one false start, but the Evanston Chapter put together a one-year package of wage and insurance benefits that logs an impressive 4.8 percent salary increase for the 100-plus CCPA members. The salary hikes, which went into effect March 1st and run through the last day of February, 1991, provides for a Police Officer wage range of $29,670 to $38,005, depending on years of service. The pact also provides a seven-step wage range of $26,133 to $32,698 for Communications Operators. The range for Evanston’s Civilian Desk Officers runs from $24,750 to $31,654 during the agreement’s one-year term. Some weeks before this pact was approved at a well-attended meeting of Evanston Chapter members, an earlier version was voted down. Following that development, the five-member CCPA negotiating team went back to City Hall and made their felt at the highest levels of local government. Chapter President Ken Kutella called the new version a “significant improvement” over the terms of the earlier proposed agreement. Kutella told his members that the Evanston city management people had “reached their limit” in the amount of increases they could come up with. The new CCPA contract provides that the City of Evanston will continue to pay health insurance premium costs through the end of next February , except for the Prucare coverages, which are due to expire in June. Then, in a carryover clause that will run from March 1, 1991 through February 29, 1992, all Evanston Police employees will begin making partial payments on their own insurance premiums. Chapter President Kutella reported that the agreed-upon employee contributions will be $12.50 per month for single coverage and $25.00 per month for family coverage. “By locking in a fixed rate now,” Kutella told his members, “we will all be a lot better off, because nobody knows how high the rates will be in years to come.” Currently, health insurance benefits of the level enjoyed by Evanston Police Department employees typically have an annual premium cost of $5,700 or more. And, the trend is for health coverage costs to rise dramatically. By locking in the employee share of the cost to an annual maximum of $300, the CCPA package promises to continue to provide health coverage at a “bargain rate” to Evanston Police, Officer Kutella said. In addition to Kutella, the CCPA Evanston Chapter negotiating team included Officers Ken Labuda, Jim Hutton, Madonna Grove and Reinaldo Rebollar. |