The Chadron City Council has ratified a new 3-year contract with the unionized members of the city police department.
The deal runs through September 2025 and covers dispatchers and officers through the rank of sergeant.
Representatives for both sides praised the new contract. Speaking for members of the Fraternal Order of Police, Sgt Chelsey Stolley said it addresses their primary concerns of recruitment/retention and wages – especially for dispatchers.
Salary and benefits can be reopened each year, but the pay scale for Fiscal Year 22-23 is from $23.33 to $31.43 an hour for sergeants, $20.55 to $26.55 for officers, and $16.60 to $21.14 for dispatchers.
Police Chief Rick Hickstein called the negotiations “very coordinated” with both sides paying a lot of attention to language to make sure it’s clear, solid, and easily understood.
City manager John Sutherland said neither side wanted to “screw up” an exceptional working relationship with the result being a contract that is mutually beneficial and positive.
Provisions in the agreement prohibit the officers from striking and the city from conducting a lockout.