Rockville Centre cops pull out of Memorial Day Parade

There will be a notable absence in this year's Rockville Centre Memorial Day Parade. Members of the village Police Department have said they will not be marching due to what their leadership sees as a failure on the village's part in ongoing contract negotiations.

A member of the department who is close to those talks said that police officers, whose contract expired on Dec. 31, feel slighted by the village's latest contract proposal, and as a result, members of the department will march in parades in their own hometowns.

According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Police Department first asked the village for 5 percent salary increases in each of the next two years. The village responded with an offer of no increase this year, followed by two consecutive 2 percent increases. The source also said that the village's proposal would require officers to work an additional 216 hours per year, lose vacation time and increase their contributions to their health benefits.

"Basically, everything was horrible about it," said the source. "Every little thing."

Four months before the department's contract with the village expired, the source said, the Police Benevolent Association attempted to schedule meetings with village officials to negotiate new terms, but the village did not respond until November. Village representatives gave the union the village’s latest offer on May 10, according to the village’s labor counsel Christopher Kurtz, and have been waiting for a response since then. Kurtz said he was unaware the department had decided to reject the offer.

"We presented the union with an offer, and we felt that it was an offer that reflects the times," said Kurtz. "And we're waiting to hear a response from them." Kurtz said he could not comment on the negotiations.

But the source told the Herald that the police officers are finished negotiating and will file for arbitration. Inspector Glenn Quinn, the department’s executive officer, said it was his understanding that the PBA encouraged members to not march in the village’s parade. However, the department made a $250 contribution to the American Legion.

"We're just asking to be bumped up so we'd be in the middle [of the pay scale], not on the lower end where we are," said the department member. "If we go to arbitration and get three zeros, we'd be better off financially because of all the contributions and takeaways and extra hours worked."

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