Norton Shores police union president: Public safety trumps benefits questions

Norton Shores police union president: Public safety trumps benefits questions | MLive.com
The letter, which Norton Shores City Council signed Tuesday evening, said the new hires would not be covered under the same contract existing officers had, and their pensions and retirement health benefits would be determined by negotiation or arbitration.
The existing contract expired in June, Davis said, and the union and city administrators have been in negotiations since February.
Under standard procedure, new hires would be covered under the old contract, he said.
Meyers told city council it would not be “financially prudent” to hire new officers with the same legacy costs current officers have.
Davis said the union agreed to sign the letter because they thought having fewer officers would compromise public safety, but he thinks the public safety millage Norton Shores voters passed made the letter unnecessary.