TORRANCE : Police Officers OK 3-Year Contract

After more than three years without a raise, Torrance police officers have voted to accept a 7.1% increase over the next two years and a package that calculates their third-year raise based on the pay at other departments.

The officers voted 138 to 7 in favor of the three-year contract. The original package offered a 7.1% increase over two years and no guarantee of what the increase would be in coming years, said Officer Joe Simpsona negotiator for the Torrance Police Officers Assn.

Simpson said the new deal will base third-year salaries on a survey of 10 local police forces, including those in Beverly Hills, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach. Members of the department will receive an increase of 40% of the difference between their pay and the average of the top three departments in the survey, to a maximum of 5%. In addition, they will receive a raise each year in accordance with the rise of the consumer price index.

On Aug. 29, 75% of the department called in sick and earlier that month officers picketed City Hall to protest the stalled talks. The officers objected to receiving the same raise other city workers got, which included 7% wage increases over the next two years, Simpson said.

Salaries in the Police Department range from $38,760 a year for first-year officers to about $50,000 a year for more experienced officers, Simpson said.