Livingston police unit gets a raise

The supervisory unit of the Livingston Police Department will get a raise next fiscal year, its first raise in about eight years.

Two sergeants and a lieutenant make up that unit and will see a retroactive 3.5 percent wage increase for this year, and a 3 percent raise on July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year.

“They do a good job and they deserve to be compensated for it,” Chief Ruben Chavez said Thursday.

The contract was approved unanimously with a 3-0 vote by Livingston City Council on Tuesday. Councilman Jim Soria and Mayor Pro Tem Gurpal Samra were absent from the meeting.

The three-year contract would also give the unit a 3 percent increase in 2017. It includes other provisions for retirement and equipment benefits.

The agreement comes a few months after City Council adopted its 2015-16 budget, which reflects its first projected surplus in four years.

With general fund revenues of $5.18 million and expenditures of $4.86 million, the city projects a surplus of about $320,000. The council approved the budget with a 4-0 vote, as Soria was absent from that meeting.

The new contract also ends the 5 percent pay cut and other concessions the officers made to help the city balance its budget last year.

Livingston sergeants’ annual pay is between $53,988 and $72,420, based on their time with the department, according to the city’s salary schedule. Lieutenants make between $61,080 and $76,116 a year.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Livingston police unit gets a raise."