Brookfield police officers received a 5.7-percent or 5.6-percent boost in their pay on Jan. 1 thanks to the new three-year contract with the trustees that took effect that day.
The policemen, who are members of the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, get a 4.8-percent pay hike in 2027 and 3.8- or 3.9-percent raises in 2028.
The salary for a fully tenured patrolman is $26.31 an hour in 2026 and the pay goes up to $28.74 in 2028. The corporal pay goes from $27.86 an hour in 2026 to $30.42 in 2028, and sergeant pay is set for $29.04 an hour in 2026, rising to $31.71 in 2028.
The pay hikes are partially offset by the employees taking on more of their contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio as the trustees pay less. It has been a long-standing goal of the trustees to eliminate the township paying any of the employees’ share to their pension fund.
The contract also accelerates the schedule under which a new hire receives tenure from four years to three. The new hire is to be paid 85 percent of a fully tenured policeman in the first year of employment, 90 percent in year two and 95 percent in year three. However, the police chief has the authority to set a new hire at a higher percentage based on experience and qualifications, and modify the steps for the purposes of recruitment or retention.
The contract eliminates the position of senior officer, an intermediate step between patrolman and corporal. The senior officer position, which had been designated after 12 years of service, was created at a time when the department had several long-term members who had not yet achieved the 20 years needed to become a corporal, said Police Chief Aaron Kasiewicz. Senior officers earned a little more money but took on no added responsibilities, he said.
Among the current roster, the three longest-tenured policemen already are officers – the chief, a sergeant and a corporal – and the next-tenured has 5 ½ years of service.
“No one’s close to that now,” Kasiewicz said of senior officer status. If anyone had been close to 12 years of service, the position of senior officer probably would have stayed, he said.
Also new in the contract:
- Service with another agency is allowed to factor into vacation time and longevity pay.
- An outer vest carrier, on to which equipment is attached, is considered a standard part of the uniform.
- Policemen who are members of a specialized unit, such as a drug task force, shall be issued any special equipment agreed upon by the police chief and the unit commander.
- The probationary period for new officers will be no more than one year, and an officer will remain at a pay step no more than one year.
- Officers on patrol will work in shifts of eight, 10 or 12 hours, at the chief’s discretion. The previous contract had specified eight-hour shifts. This change reflects that the officers last year asked for and received shifts of 10 hours instead of eight, and Kasiewicz said the 10-hour shifts are working great.
- Compensatory time can be accrued up to 200 hours, up from 120 in the previous pact.
- Officers are now allowed to bid on open shifts.
- Unused vacation time can now be cashed in.
- Policemen now get their birthday, or a day near it, off of work.
