Selectmen Sign Police Collective Bargaining Agreements

Police Officers and Superior Officers in Hingham will see their annual salary increased by 2 percent for the next two years after Selectmen agreed to sign the Collective Bargaining Agreements presented by the Personnel Board at Town Hall Tuesday night.

Negotiations between the Town of Hingham and the Police Unions have gone very well and according to Personnel Board member David Pace  they have “reached an agreement that is good for both parties.”

Salary increases had been frozen for 2010-11 and this increase of 2 percent  will start July 1 and run through June 2013.  The agreement will include educational incentive benefits  and clothing allowances for officers.

There has been a change in the stipends available to Police Officers with additional funds being made available for a firearms instructor and a first aid officer. These are not new positions as they had previously been covered under the Superior Officers agreement but patrol officers are now performing these important duties.

A stipend of $1,000 has been added to the Hingham Police Superior Officers Agreement, which will be allocated to the officer responsible for keeping the records of Breathalyzer tests.

Police Chief Peraino praised the give-and-take attitude from both sides of the negotiating table. 

“With the times we live in, I think that the officers on the street see the effects of the economy right now and they realize that this is a fair and equitable agreement,” Peraino said.