Letters to the Editor
Cops Need Top Pay Fixed

To the Editor:

I am a former New York City Police Officer. I served from 1995-2000 and I am troubled by how the argument in the current contract impasse is being portrayed in the local media.

PBA President Patrick Lynch has every right to criticize the Office of Collective Bargaining and the New York State Public Employment Relations Board.

When Patrick Lynch became president in the late 1990s, he ran and won because of how the Office of Collective Bargaining settled the 1995-2000 contract. The NYPD was offered 0,0,3,3,6. When the PBA fought for more, OCB "compromised" with 0,0,3,3,6. Meanwhile, the strong health of the national economy paid for substantial raises for police officers across the country. This contract is probably the greatest reason why the NYPD suffers the recruitment and retention problems it has today, as base pay lags around $30,000 behind the Nassau, Suffolk, MTA and Port Authority Police Departments, as well as just about any jurisdiction that has a cheaper cost of living.

Currently, Mayor Bloomberg wants to raise starting salaries of Police Officers by making them work 10 more days a year. Their starting pay will still be sub-par in comparison, and the contract will probably be pear-shaped, not raising the top salary much over the current $60,000.

It's called once bitten, twice shy. PBA President Patrick Lynch cannot over-scrutinize the arbitration process, especially when Mayor Bloomberg is spinning fairy-tales about fixing the starting pay, although the overwhelming evidence shows it is the top pay that should be fixed. Recruits will join and stay if they have something to look forward to. Take it from a cop who celebrated his first paycheck at top step with the NYPD by resigning and joining a different police department that realizes that.

KEVIN LOUGHNANE, Police Officer, Port Authority P.D.