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at the same time we need incentives to make sure we are recruiting new officers. The way <br />seniority works, usually the new officers end up on second and third shifts. To make sure they <br />feel rewarded for the time they had to spend on those shifts, we added incentives. <br />Council Attorney Cekasnki - Farrand stated one (1) thing to add is all the incentives we last put in <br />place will be continued as well because they keep us competitive as a City. No incentives will be <br />removed in this agreement. <br />Scott Ruszkowski, South Bend Chief of Police with offices at 701 West Sample South Bend IN, <br />stated he has been working on negotiations for twenty (20) plus years on all sides of the table. It <br />is a whole different perspective coming into the negotiations as a Chief. It is unprecedented to <br />have a four (4) year contract but it was a painstaking process. We are really trying to recruit the <br />best talent and then make sure they stay here and serve this City for a very long time. The bottom <br />line salary adjustment really does not tell the whole story because some people could see up to <br />an eight percent (8 %) raise over what they are working now. We really wanted to reward those <br />who took the harder and less glamorous shifts such as nights and weekends because they are hard <br />to fill. It is very scary to have less officers than budgeted especially with so many who could <br />retire soon and we need to combat that. There was a lot of behind the doors arguments over the <br />structure of what we were trying to do because this is something we have never done in our <br />department. We were really trying to look towards the future and think about what 2050 look <br />like. We need to prepare now to benefit the citizens and police in and beyond 2050. Chief <br />Ruszkowski thanked Mr. Glowacki for all the hard work he put in on this agreement making the <br />numbers work. <br />Committee Chair Voorde invited the two (2) other Councilmembers on the negotiating team to <br />air their thoughts about the agreement. <br />Committeemember Karen White stated she is very pleased we were able to have a contract for <br />four (4) years that would be so well received. We face many challenges as a police department <br />when we look at our current strength and having so many officers who could retire relatively <br />soon. This agreement will hopefully address those ongoing problems. <br />Councilmember Tim Scott stated he is pleased by how well the negotiations went this time <br />around. We had some great personalities around the table which lead to this unprecedented four <br />(4) year deal. It is amazing working across from the F.O.P. because we all have the end goal of <br />getting the best deal for all parties involved. We had great success working across the table. <br />Councilmember Scott stated he really appreciated the hard work of Mr. Glowacki because his <br />numbers helped place everything in perspective. We listened to the F.O.P and took them <br />seriously which is what we need to do in these negotiations is listen to the other side. <br />Committeemember Oliver Davis asked if the presenters fully believe this is the best way for our <br />department to attract and retain police officers. <br />Ms. Steele stated she believes so. <br />3 <br />