Missoula approves amendment to police union contract after accident investors join

(Missoula Current) Members of the Missoula City Council this week approved an amendment to the Police Officer Association's collective bargaining agreement, a move that won't require a further budget amendment.

Angela Simonson, head of human resources for the city, said the Police Officers Association voted this year to include its accident investigators to their union. The department has three such positions.

“Over the past few months, we spent time negotiating terms and changes to that contract, which resulted in a $36,070 increase over what the non-union wage would have been for this year,” Simonson said. “This cost can be absorbed by the department.”

Simonson said the city had to negotiate additional terms related to wages and clothing. The result didn't extend the contract terms and the final impact was considered minimal.

The $36,000 covers all three positions.

“We have many collective bargaining agreements and this is just making a small amendment to that,” said council member Stacie Anderson. "It's pretty standard."