SIGNAL HILL : City OKs Minimum 10% Raise for Police

City police officers will receive salary increases of at least 10% under a new three-year contract approved by the City Council last week, but could see their paychecks swell even more if the local economy keeps growing.

The pact between the Signal Hill Police Officers’ Assn. and the city calls for an immediate 3% pay raise retroactive to Dec. 1, a 3% raise April 29 and 2% cost-of-living increases in January, 1996, and January, 1997.

But the contract includes provisions for midyear pay increases in each of 1996 and 1997, if the city’s sales-tax revenues continue to grow. Revenues have been rising in recent years at an annual rate of 3% to 4%, to an estimated $6.3 million this year.

Next year, the 27 police officers, detectives and sergeants in the union stand to get an additional 1% increase if sales-tax revenues hit $6.49 million and 2% if revenues top $6.55 million.