City Commissioners approved a new labor agreement during their Oct. 7 meeting with the Great Falls Police Protective Association.
The new agreement runs July 1 through June 30, 2027.
The agreement includes 84 sworn police employees and excludes those with the rank of captain and the police chief.
The agreement includes updated language regarding membership, representation fees, dues assignment and payroll deductions.
GFPPA membership voted to approved the agreement in August.
The city has now approved five of seven labor agreements, with the firefighter union and plumber and fitters remaining.
City approves two more labor agreements
In the new agreement, shift differentials for the afternoon shift increase 75 cents per hour in addition to the regularly hourly pay rate. The differential is an additional $1.25 per hour when working the late afternoon or night shifts.
For each year of the agreement, the base salary will increase by:
- 2 percent for market adjustment
- 3 percent for cost of living adjustment
- one percent for health insurance adjustment
The agreement reflects that annual health insurance premiums are now split 80 percent paid by the city and 20 percent paid by the employee.
That shift, increasing employee’s contribution to health insurance premiums, has been reflected in the four labor agreements commissioners have already approved this year and was discussed during their budget discussions over the summer.
City approves new police labor contract [2023]
The health insurance split was previously 85-15 split with 85 percent paid by the city and 15 percent paid by the city.
Under the new agreement, wages for a police officer who is not on probation will be $74,559 as of July 1, 2025 and $79,116 as of July 1, 2026.
The average annual base wage for a police officer in the first year of the agreement is $89,842 and in the second year it’s $94,325, according to the city.
City approves labor agreement with Great Falls police union [2017]
The budget impact to the city in the first year of the agreement is $430,000.
In the second year, it’s a $455,00 for a total cost increase of $885,000.
For comparison, the city took the inflationary tax increase in the current budget, which was estimated to generate $448,882 in new revenue.
City Commissioners approve budget, intent to increase property taxes
Local governments are only able to increase property taxes each year by half the average rate of inflation for the past three years.
The city did not increase the permissive medical levy since it increased how much city employees contribute to their health insurance premiums. The city took the same inflationary factor as the previous fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Bargaining sessions between the city and GFPPA were scheduled for April 15-17.
GFPPA used a consultant this year during negotiations.
When the GFPPA team received a counter proposal from the city on April 16, the union team said they needed more time and ended the meeting, not wanting to meet on April 17, according to Gaye McInerney, city human resources director.
The teams selected July 25 as the next available meeting date to continue negotiations, she said.
During the July 25 meeting, GFPPA substituted a different consultant and one team member with an agreement being reached around 4 p.m. that day, McInerney told The Electric, totaling a three-day negotiating process.
Various police union members have raised issue with city department head salaries over the years in comparison with employee pay rates. When asked, McInerney said that was not discussed during negotiations and she said she wouldn’t describe the negotiation process as contentious.
GFPPA opened with a proposal for a 20 percent pay increase over two years, McInerney, but eventually agreed to, and commissioners approved, a 12 percent increase over the two year term of the agreement.
She said that as of July 1, 2026, GFPPA members will have received increased wages of 24 percent over four years.
