Second Contract Offer from Village Nixed by Police: PBA Declares Impasse

by Judy Silberstein

(November 4, 2004) Contract talks between the Village of Larchmont and the Police Benevolent Association are at an impasse, announced Larchmont PBA President Mike Walsh appearing before the Village Board for the fourth time since he began attending their meetings in August. (See: Police Take Their Contract Issues to the Village Board) The board is still open to negotiating, replied Mayor Ken Bialo.

The interchange was part of a lengthy segment at the beginning of the November 1 board meeting and the latest in a series since the PBA started attending meetings in August.

In his remarks, Officer Walsh indicated that the board’s latest position would leave the Larchmont Police Department at the bottom of the salary scale in Westchester. The officers “do not feel appreciated for what they do,” he said. Officers were continuing to resign from the force for better-paying communities, including one who resigned on Monday to take a job in Bedford. That is leaving the remaining officers overworked as they stretch to cover an understaffed schedule. “It’s a matter of safety,” said Detective James Christiano, as he rose to spar with the mayor.

"Bedford is the Cadillac,” said Mayor Bialo, who indicated that the taxpayers of Larchmont are already overburdened and are not in a position to compete with the much more affluent up-county community. The PBA ranked Larchmont as #3 in income but 19 out of 22 in police officer salary; the mayor cited a separate source to show that Larchmont's average income was much further down the list.

Mayor Bialo said the board would not be baited into criticizing the police nor lured into a labor negotiation in public. Nevertheless, in a lengthy address, he outlined the board’s offers from September 21 and a more recent one from October 19, defended their wage and benefit elements, and criticized both the union and its negotiator for not explaining the board’s terms to the membership.

The first offer would have resulted in wage increases of 3.8% (for 2003 and 2004) and 3.7% (for 2004 and 2005) in addition to increases in longevity pay, dental coverage and uniform allowances. Further details of health benefits were to have been ironed out in January. The point was to get money into the hands of the officers, and the PBA representatives accepted everything except for provisions on retiree benefits, said the mayor. The second offer included additional benefits and extra pay for detectives, but lowered the overall salary increases to 3.25%.

The response from the PBA was negative: "The last offer which was made to us by your representative guaranties that Larchmont Police officers will not rise above being among the lowest paid police in the county, shameful for a community that says they value their police," said Officer Walsh.

The mayor’s comments came after a weekend in which PBA representatives were out in force “campaigning” for their side. At the Saturday, October 30 Rag-a-Muffin Parade, part of the force was in uniform directing traffic and taking care of lost children; another group was in “civvies” handing out leaflets, displaying signs, directing residents to their new website and explaining their grievances. Signs supporting the police have cropped up in Larchmont store windows and on front lawns in various parts of the village.

Off-duty PBA members handed out candy and leaflets (below) while on-duty police rescued lost children and directed traffic at the Rag-a-Muffin Parade on October 30.

The officers who attended the meeting on Monday left unimpressed with the mayor’s positions. They vowed to continue pressing their case with Larchmont residents. The trustees declined to offer comments during the meeting, but the mayor repeated an invitation to the PBA to continue both formal negotiations and informal conversations.