By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
City council members approved a new three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Del Rio Police Officers Association (DRPOA) during the council’s most recent regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 9.
Approval of the agreement was on the council’s agenda, but before taking it up,
the council went into executive session to confer with its attorneys about it and several other matters.
The council returned to open session about an hour later, and Mayor Al Arreola announced no action had been taken while the council was behind closed doors.
During the executive session, Adrian Garcia, DRPOA president, told The 830 Times the DRPOA members had reviewed the contract and said a majority of the members had voted in favor of the agreement. DRPOA members have been meeting with city administrators about the agreement on and off for about two months.
City Secretary Mari Acosta read the heading of the agenda item: “An ordinance … authorizing the city manager to execute a collective bargaining agreement between the city of Del Rio and the Del Rio Police Officers Association …”
After Acosta read the heading, Arreola asked if there was a motion.
Councilwoman Elsa Reyes made the motion to approve the ordinance. Councilman LeRoy Briones gave the second.
There were no questions or comments following the motion and second, and the council voted unanimously to approve the motion.
Following the meeting, Garcia made the following statement to The 830 Times.
Garcia said, “I want to express my profound gratitude to our community and to the Texas Border Organization for standing by our officers during these critical moments. It is deeply humbling to know we have such a wonderful and caring community, where we all share the same commitment to public safety.
“Secondly, to my collective bargaining team and our lead negotiator, Carlos Zamorano with CLEAT (Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas), thank you for your tireless work on providing multiple contract proposals and pay studies and standing by your fellow officers with such dedicated representation.
“Thirdly, to the city manager and his negotiating team, thank you for listening to our concerns and providing an opportunity to provide much-needed pay relief to the officers’ current pay structure and an updated family leave policy where officers need it the most.
“Lastly, I want to thank the mayor and city council for their unanimous vote in passing the collective bargaining contract, which will secure a gradual pay increase for these next three years.
“While this contract is not everything our officers were hoping for, we strongly believe this serves as a positive foundation to build upon in future negotiations. We fully understand the city’s current financial constraints, so our association remains committed to maintaining an effective working relationship with the city manager’s office. Only together can we continue to address our officers’ concerns and think outside the box in ways to improve the quality of life for our officers, firefighters, city employees and the entire community.
“Growth is important and requires collaboration, and we must never forget that a strong public safety foundation builds a strong and safe community. We are all in this together,” Garcia said.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
