Revere police superior officers to delay raise

REVERE – At least one municipal union leader is willing to delay a pay raise negotiated in 2008 with the city in order to soften the blow of looming layoffs triggered by state aid cuts.Even as he signed off on police pay raises and a contract that includes random drug testing, Mayor Thomas Ambrosino last year warned he would call unions back to the bargaining table as soon as the city ran into revenue problems. He repeated that warning at Monday’s City Council meeting.”If unions do not agree to concessions there will be personnel reductions in police and fire.”His statement reflects cuts in state aid to communities announced last Friday by Gov. Deval Patrick. Revere is losing about $1.2 million in aid, not counting local aid reductions slated for the spending year that begins July 1.Revere Police Superior Officers’ Association President James Guido called Ambrosino’s warning “a reasonable request.””We’re not giving up (raises), but delaying. These are unique times. I’ve never seen a fiscal crisis of this magnitude.”The mayor signed contracts last November with the officers’ and Revere Police Employees’ Association paying superior officers $133,000 in raises from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2010 and paying Employees’ Association members $162,000 in raises for the same time period.Even with delayed raises, a city goal of boosting police ranks to 100 officers will suffer as a result of the cuts. There are 95 officers on department rolls, but two are on military leave and three undergoing academy training will not be brought into police ranks until the municipal financial picture is rosier, Ambrosino and Police Chief Terence Reardon said Monday.Reardon said the aid cuts could force him to reassign one, maybe all three officers assigned to secondary public schools to street patrols.Ambrosino said he hopes a portion of $3.8 million set aside to pay bills left over from the spending year that ended June 30, 2008 can be used to cover cost shortfalls through the next year. He also said he will be reviewing, in the wake of the aid cuts, every city spending request in excess of $500.”We’ll try to save as much as possible, but you cannot just make up $1.2 million,” Ambrosino said, adding Fire Department overtime costs and over $500,000 in snow removal and road treating costs have strained the city budget.Ward 6 City Councilor Charles Patch Monday said tighter regulations should be imposed on use of city vehicles by municipal employees.”You would save jobs,” Patch said, adding public safety employees drive over a dozen city vehicles home.He estimates the city could save $100,000 on banning take-home privileges. Ambrosino called that estimate exaggerated.