Irwin police get new pact; 3%-4% raises

Irwin’s three full-time officers will get a 3% raise next year under a new contract that creates a chain of command by establishing the ranks of lieutenant, sergeant and corporal.

The three-year contract that Irwin Council unanimously approved on Wednesday gives the full-time officers a 4% raise in both the second and third year of the pact that expires Dec. 31, 2022, said Officer Dan Wensel, who negotiated the contract for the police. The officers are members of the Irwin Borough Police Officers Relief Association.

Council President Rick Burdelski declined to comment on the agreement’s details until the police union signs it.

But, Burdelski said after the meeting the cost of the contract with the police officers will not require the borough to raise real estate taxes next year. He said he does not anticipate the borough will raise real estate taxes in 2020.

In addition to the pay hike, Officer Mike Thomas will be promoted on Jan. 1 to the rank of lieutenant, becoming second in command to Chief Roger Pivirotto, Wensel said. Wensel will be promoted to sergeant and Officer Mike Hooper will become a corporal.

The promotions were based on seniority, Wensel said. Thomas had been on the force the longest among the three officers. The promotions come with a one-time 3% pay hike in 2020, Wensel said.

Creating the ranks of lieutenant, sergeant and corporal establishes a chain of command in the department, said Pivirotto, a retired state police station commander. The ranking officers can direct the patrolmen, said Pivirotto, whose contract with the borough expires at the end of 2020.

The contact also gives officers shift differential pay. Those who work the second shift, from afternoon to evening, will be paid an additional 50 cents per hour, while those working the overnight shift will get an extra 75 cents an hour, Wensel said.

The borough’s six part-time officers also will get a 15% pay raise next year. The part-timers will see their wages jump from $19 an hour to $22 per hour, Wensel said.

Mayor Bill Hawley said the wage increase was necessary to retain the part-time officers.

There are fewer candidates enrolling into the municipal police academy and it takes several months to properly train a new officer, Pivirotto said.

The contract with the borough was reached after about two months of negotiations, Wensel said.

“It was the easiest one in about 20 years,” said Wensel, referring to more contentious negotiations in the past.

“Two months of talks and nobody walked out mad,” Wensel quipped.