VENTURA : Police Raises Delayed, Federal Grant Sought

An agreement to raise the salary of Ventura’s 116 police officers was delayed late Monday to give city officials time to review terms of the proposed contract.

But the City Council did agree to apply for a federal grant that would help the department retain two officers whose jobs are scheduled for elimination, and even hire a third one.

The raise agreement, negotiated over two months after the former contract expired in November, calls for the department’s officers, corporals and sergeants to receive 5% pay hikes beginning July 3. They would get another 2% salary increase in July, 1996, under terms of the agreement.

“It brings us up to median with the six comparison cities we looked at in Ventura County,” said Cpl. John Garner, the association president. “So we’re pretty pleased.”

But officials are still debating how to implement other benefits negotiated by the Ventura Police Officers’ Assn., including city contributions to the department’s health plan.

Meanwhile, Chief Richard Thomas received permission to apply for a $225,000 federal grant that would fund a portion of the cost of the new position and of saving the two positions that had been scheduled to be cut.

The city share of the three positions will be almost $400,000 over the three-year life of the federal grant. Despite a projected deficit of $1.2 million for the upcoming fiscal year, City Council members said the grant was too good to pass up.

“This is a deal we can’t refuse with that matching grant,” Councilman Gary Tuttle said.