Denver police on Friday voted overwhemlingly in favor of a new three-year contract that will add $9,000 to the paycheck of an experienced officer by 2010.

The pay increase is expected to cost the city more than $5 million and is being factored into the 2008 budget the mayor will propose to Denver City Council on Sept. 15.

Members of the police union voted 796 in favor and 28 opposed to the increase, said Detective John White, Denver police spokesman.

It means patrol officers will receive a 14 percent raise in increments between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2010, in an effort to achieve parity with officers in cities similar to Denver and around the state.

"Our primary focus in determining compensation for any city employee group is fairness," Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, senior adviser to Mayor John Hickenlooper, wrote in an e-mail.

The negotiations were based on a market analysis and comparison of pay scales in other departments, she said, and Denver police wound up falling behind the wages of others.

In the previous contract negotiated when the city was experiencing a budget shortfall, Denver officers received only a 5 percent pay increase between 2004 and 2007, Lent said.

In 2005, they received no raise at all.

During a similar period, Denver firefighters received a total increase of 9 percent, and Denver sheriff's deputies received an 11 percent increase, she said.

Under the new contract, effective Jan. 1, 2008, cadets and officers will receive a 4.75 percent increase for the year, followed by 4.75 percent in 2009 and 4.5 percent in 2010.

That means a top patrol officer now earning $63,252 will be bringing home an extra $3,000 in 2008.

By the end of 2010, when the contract expires, that same officer will have earned a base salary of $72,526.

The city will continue to provide other benefits - paying 80 percent of a police officer's health insurance premiums, for example.

The contract for firefighters expires Dec. 31, 2008, a fire department spokesman said, so those negotiations will start sometime next year.

Sheriff's deputies will start their negotiations in October for Jan. 1, 2008, to Dec., 31, 2010, said Jeff Shaw, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents that department.

In all three negotiations, a strike is unlikely.

"We don't approve of strikes - they are not beneficial to the community," Shaw said.

"We also can't strike by law," he said.

Pay comparison

The 2007 nationwide median base pay for police officers was $46,596, according to salary.com, as reported by CNN. Here are 2007 annual base salaries for patrol officers in Denver and elsewhere along the Front Range. All figures are approximate:

City Pay range

• Denver $41,124 to $63,252*

• Arvada $46,743 to $64,123

• Boulder $44,253 to $65,564

• Fort Collins $48,982 to $66,663

• Denver firefighters $40,006 to $61,548

• Denver Sheriff's $40,164 to $55,968*Denver Salary Range Does Not Include Health Insurance, Merit Pay, Overtime Or Benefits. Paychecks Are Issued Every 15 Days, According To The Curr ...

lehndorffb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2792

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