By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Del Rio police officers are seeking a 20 percent pay increase over the next two years.
Members of the Del Rio Police Officers Association and their negotiator from the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) sat down with city officials Sept. 10 for the second in a series of meetings on the city’s contract with the DRPOA. The two groups first met on Aug. 28.
The police officers were represented at the Sept. 10 meeting by Steve Ayala of CLEAT and by DRPD Sgt. Jesus Galindo, DRPOA president; DRPD detective James Biscaino, DRPOA vice president; DRPD detective David Lopez, DRPOA secretary/treasurer and DRPD detective Joshua Garcia.
cities’ and several school districts’ police departments was displayed during the Del Rio
Police Officers Association’s first collective bargaining meeting with city officials on
Aug. 28. (Photo by Karen Gleason)
Assistant City Manager Manuel Chavez, City Human Resources Director Mario Garcia and Interim Finance Director Linda Coones represented the city. Two other city representatives, Rebecca Hayward, an attorney with the city’s contracted law firm of Denton Navarro Rodriguez Bernal Santee & Zech, and Hayward’s fellow attorney, Clarissa Rodriguez, appeared via Zoom.
Ayala opened the meeting, and after some discussion about language changes in the contract, spoke about the pay scales he had displayed during the first meeting on Aug. 28, which showed pay disparities between Del Rio officers and officers working for other city and school district police departments in the region.
Ayala said, “The pay scale was just to give a picture as to what our officers here in Del Rio see day after day. They appreciate what the city’s done. We’re moving forward in the right direction, trying to close that (pay) gap, between our neighboring cities and cities similar to our size, and we want to continue going that direction.
“There are also federal agencies (here in Del Rio), and (the local officers) see the pay that they get and the work that they do, but they are always there. They work 24/7. They’re short-handed. The last that I looked, that was a total of 14 officers. We’re talking about two shifts almost, and the officers still keeping up the best service they can for the citizens of Del Rio.”
Ayala pointed out again that “no one comes close” in the region to the number of calls answered annually by DRPD officers.
The CLEAT representative also spoke about the city council authorizing pay raises for civilian employees last year.
“I know that city took care of their civilian staff, and they do need to be taken care of. They’re also part of the city and they do provide services. (The city council) gave them that pay raise (last year), and I understand also a cost-of-living adjustment of 2 percent, and if they qualify for a merit, that’s another 2 percent, and I think it was a 10 percent pay raise for them. . . Our guys are looking for something similar, something that can help them get closer to closing this gap with these other competing agencies,” Ayala said.
He added, “We want to keep the officers we’ve got right now. We don’t want to lose them, and it’s hard to attract and retain. Without pay raises, we’re not going to be able to attract. We’re not going to be able to get people in the door to take the test.
“After speaking to some of the bargaining team, they go through 10 or 15 applicants, and they might get two or three at the end. Then those guys, they start the job, and they realize this is not for me, and they leave and go to another department once they’ve been trained by the city of Del Rio.
“It’s not just specific to Del Rio; it’s statewide. It’s nationwide. Just look at the news, what our officers go through, but they keep their heads up high, they keep doing their jobs as best as possible and rightfully so, because that’s the oath that they took, and we want to work with the city. We want to be understanding of their needs also,” Ayala said.
“So, I know you had said a three-year, but we are looking at a two-year contract. It doesn’t mean there aren’t other viable options we can look at, but we were looking at a two-year contract, and our first proposal, we’re looking at, just to keep up with what (the city’s) civilian staff got, plus the COLA and the merit, we’re looking at year one, 14 percent, and year two, 8 percent, which would equal out to 22 percent over two years, and that would be our first proposal,” Ayala said.
Hayward asked Ayala if the DRPOA is also seeking increases in stipends for officers’ additional certifications and education.
“No, not at this moment right now,” Ayala replied.
Hayward said she wanted to ask city staff if they had any questions, and none did.
The two groups then caucused privately among themselves for just under an hour before returning to meet again face-to-face.
When the two groups returned to the session, Ayala went over a number of other changes to the contract.
Hayward then told the police negotiators, “Of course we’re already talking about the fiscal counter(offers), and we won’t have anything for you today, but we’ll be ready to discuss numbers fully the next time we meet.”
Ayala and Hayward then discussed the time and date of their next meeting, and representatives of the two groups signed changes to articles in the contract to which they had agreed previously.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
