Friday, April 12, 2024
Today, Mayor Brett P. Smiley, Chief Oscar L. Perez, Jr. and President of the Providence Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge #3 Michael Imondi announced that the City has reached a tentative five-year agreement with the Providence FOP that will now go before members of the FOP and the Providence City Council for review and ratification.
“Community safety has been a top priority of my administration and in order to keep our neighborhoods safe, we need to support the officers on our streets,” said Mayor Brett Smiley. “This agreement includes competitive compensation for our Providence police officers, while making significant investments in the Providence pension system that has too long gone underfunded.”
The tentative agreement includes a 4.25% increase for each of the 5 years of the agreement which will be retroactively applied through July 1, 2023, the date of the last contract expiration. It also increases officers’ contribution to the City’s pension fund from the current 13.5% to 16% of their salary by the end of the contract. This increase will substantially reduce the long-term liability of the system.
“We are investing in a modern police force that prioritizes the public safety and well-being of our entire community,” said Colonel Oscar L. Perez, Jr. “Through this agreement we are making meaningful changes to our staffing practices to better support our officers, shifting towards a more holistic approach to our promotional procedure process and implementing critical compensation adjustments to improve both retention and recruitment. I look forward to collaborating with the Providence FOP and the City Council to ratify this agreement that underscores our collective commitment to improving public safety.”
This tentative agreement would also establish a new, modern promotional process that implements best practices from departments across the country. Officers seeking advancement will now go before an independent board and participate in a hybrid assessment that includes oral, written and scenario-based evaluations designed to test practical skills and measure leadership, compliance and communication competencies.
“The Providence Fraternal Order of Police thanks the mayor and his team for the opportunity to negotiate this contract,” said Michael Imondi, President of Providence Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge #3. “After much discussion over the articles within the tentative agreement, we feel strongly that the FOP and the City were able to come to common ground, improving wages and benefits for the officers and providing needed savings for the city. We look forward to presenting this agreement to our membership and the City Council with the hopes of final ratification.”
In the community satisfaction survey taken earlier this year, Providence residents and businesses indicated there’s work to do to make them feel safer in their neighborhoods. That’s why earlier this year, Mayor Smiley fought to include funding for a new police academy that will add 36 new officers to the Providence Police Department.
Additionally, under the leadership of Mayor Smiley and Colonel Perez, Providence recently received one of the largest Community Oriented Policing (COPS) Hiring Program grants in the country and supplemental funding to provide officers with de-escalation training and further strengthen Providence’s commitment to building strong relationships within the community. These are critical investments as the Administration works to make the Providence Police Department a national leader in strong community policing.