ORANGE PARK – Ongoing negotiations between the Town of Orange Park and the union representing its police department last Wednesday resulted in both sides moving closer to an agreement.

The Fraternal Order of Police Orange Park Lodge 144 originally wanted an extra $300,000 for salaries and benefits. The town offered $160,000.

Town Manager Sarah Campbell said the new request from the union is “somewhere in the middle.”

Campbell said she would ask the Town Council to approve the tentative agreement of an additional $240,000 reached between her and the union at their next meeting on Jan. 9.

“I believe this is a good solution. It’s a good, middle-of-the-road approach,” Campbell said.

After originally favoring a $160,000 increase, Campbell said in light of the town’s budget restraints, she now supports the $240,000 ask – $184,000 in salaries and $56,000 in benefits.

The details include across-the-board raises, with lower-paid employees getting a higher percentage increase of around 20%, and higher-paid, longer-tenured employees receiving an approximately 10% increase.

“Each employee would receive an increase of about $7,600 per year to their current salary,” Campbell said.

If the council approves the proposal, the plan will be presented to the union for ratification. A final vote for approval from the council could happen as soon as its Jan. 23 meeting.

“I don’t see any problems on this (vote) (making it to the finish line), as long as council approves the salary proposal,” she said.

Campbell said the new salary structure, particularly starting pay, would make the town competitive with a new contract approved for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. She said a starting dispatcher’s salary will jump from $34,700 to $42,400 a year, while officers will go from $42,509 to $50,209.

“This gives us a bit of an edge over Clay County. They are a big organization, and they’re still going to have the ability to attract people because of their size, but as far as salary goes, we are going to be very competitive with them,” Campbell said.

While the proposed increase is less than the union’s original offer of $300,000, it represents a compromise that balances the town’s budget constraints with the union’s desire for fair compensation. Campbell remained optimistic about the potential outcome, stressing the positive impact the new deal could have on recruiting and retaining officers.

“I believe this also increases long-term employees and incentivizes them to stay with our organization, so we can continue to recruit and retain,” she said.