New Algonquin police contract includes salary increase, body cam negotiations clause

The village of Algonquin’s new contract with its police officers, approved unanimously by the Village Board earlier this week, includes a higher base salary and a clause allowing for negotiations as the department prepares to get body cameras.

The new minimum salary is intended to maintain Algonquin’s competitiveness with other municipalities, Assistant Village Manager Mike Kumbera said.

“We were a little low on the starting end,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re paying fair wages and are competitive in that market.”

The newly approved contract between the village of Algonquin and Metropolitan Alliance of Police Algonquin Officers Chapter 78 spans from this year through April 30, 2025.

Starting salaries for officers are currently at $59,282. Under this contract, they’ve been upped to $70,000, with 2.5% increases every year through the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Every officer covered by the agreement also will receive a uniform allowance of $700, in addition to protective vests valued at up to $760.

Also included in the contract is a section stating that the village of Algonquin and police union will agree to bargain over the department’s body camera policy.

Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this year signed into law, along with other criminal justice reforms, a mandate stating that all police departments, no matter how small, must have body cameras implemented by 2025.

What the body camera negotiations part of Algonquin’s contract means, Kumbera said, is that the village’s internal policies are subject to negotiation.

A final price for outfitting Algonquin’s police force with cameras is something village is working toward, Kumbera said.

The cameras will be the least expensive part of this transition, Kumbera said. It’s the storage space and management of those records that could prove to be more costly.

“It’s kind of a package deal,” Kumbera said.

Overall, village officials said, negotiations on the police contract went well. Human Resources Director Todd Walker said it took only two meetings for the union to ratify the agreement and bring it in front of the Village Board.

The contract does not contain a lot of changes, Kumbera said, which could factor into why it was a smooth process.

The president of Algonquin’s chapter of the Metropolitan Alliance of Police could not be reached for comment.