Roseville gives firefighters, police COVID bonuses

Roseville leaders have agreed to give police officers and firefighters $2,000 bonuses using some of the city's federal COVID-19 aid.

The city is spending $136,000 of its $3.8 million American Rescue Plan allocation on the bonuses, which were included in recent union contract negotiations. City officials believed the payments were the right thing to do, said City Manager Patrick Trudgeon, noting there is no work-from-home option for first responders.

"Throughout the pandemic, especially the early days while a lot of other folks worked from home, police officers and firefighters had to continue to report for duty and be out in the the community," Trudgeon said.

Roseville employs 44 rank-and-file police officers and 24 firefighters who will receive bonuses. The City Council signed off on the bonuses as part of new contracts with unions representing police officers and firefighters. The council approved the contracts at a meeting earlier this month as a routine item with no public discussion.

Other Minnesota cities are taking similar measures to recruit and retain officers at a time when many are leaving the profession, according to Jim Mortenson, executive director of Law Enforcement Labor Services, Minnesota's largest public safety labor union.

"Law enforcement is one of the most challenging careers, being physically, mentally and emotionally demanding," Mortenson said in a statement. "The COVID-19 pandemic only increased the hazards, particularly with a lack of PPE [personal protective equipment] and thousands of urgent, unpredictable face-to-face interactions with the public."

In addition to the bonuses, Roseville police officers and firefighters will receive annual raises as part of their recently negotiated contracts.

Under their new agreement, firefighters will get a 2% market adjustment and 3% cost-of-living raise for each of the two years the contract covers. By 2023, starting firefighters will make $72,712 annually, with the most senior firefighters making $90,854.

Police officers will receive a 1% market adjustment and 3% cost-of-living increase in 2022 and a 2% market adjustment and 3% cost-of-living increase in 2023. By 2023, they will start at $68,806, with senior officers capping out at $91,748.

Trudgeon said he believes Roseville could be one of the first Minnesota communities to dip into American Rescue Plan dollars during labor contract negotiations.

The city considered recruiting, hiring and retention while negotiating contracts, he said, and the council authorized the police department to recognize experience with other law enforcement agencies when making lateral hires and figuring pay.

"We are being as aggressive as we can to recruit and retain officers," Trudgeon said. "It was a good agreement. We have good relationships with the unions ... We are really happy we have the business part of the relationship done so we can focus on making sure they are supported and they are getting the resources they need."

Meanwhile, state legislators remain at an impasse over how to distribute $250 million in aid to workers on the front lines of the pandemic, failing to agree on a plan after months of gridlock.

This fall, Republicans in control of the Senate favored narrow eligibility for nurses, long-term care providers and first responders who had direct exposure to COVID-19 patients or residents. Each worker would receive a $1,200 check under the Republican plan.

Democrats wanted to expand eligibility to include applicants who didn't work with patients but whose jobs exposed them to COVID-19 nevertheless, including school staff, child-care workers and food service and retail employees. That group of 667,000 workers would each get a $375 check.