Members of the Turlock police union, Turlock Associated Police Officers (TAPO), recently received a pay increase, despite having not signed a contract with the City of Turlock.
The pay increase, which was reportedly requested and approved by Turlock City Manager Roy Wasden, came as a surprise to the Turlock police officers.
“I can tell you that we were unaware that there were plans made by administration to…put more money in our check then we had anticipated,” said TAPO President Sgt. Russell Holeman.
Several other employment unions also received pay increases from the City of Turlock, however it is unknown which, if any, have already signed their contracts.
Members of TAPO will have an opportunity to vote whether to approved the contract that is currently before the union today.
Wasden is out of the office all week and has been unable to comment on the pay raise and why he requested and approved it. Mike Pitcock, Director of Development Services and City Engineer for the City of Turlock, is the acting City Manager until Wasden returns, but said he was not involved in the labor negotiations and does not know the specifics.
Although Wasden has been unavailable to answer questions about the raise, Holeman said he has spoken to Wasden about the surprise pay raise.
“I spoke to Mr. Wasden about this and it is his belief that the contract will pass,” said Holeman. “And he did not want the employees to wait any longer for the pay they would eventually get anyways.”
It is unknown if the members of TAPO would be required to repay the raise if the contract is not approved today.
Turlock police officers have not seen a wage increase in several years, which is why the raise on their recent checks came as a surprise to TAPO. Holeman, and the rest of TAPO, have long been fighting for better compensation and a more attractive benefits package to bring in qualified candidates to fill the short-staffed Turlock Police Department.
Some concerns have been raised about the wage increase, claiming that it is a ploy to sway votes and convince the members of TAPO to approve the contract with the City.
Wasden has recently been involved in a case where the City of Turlock sent out literature in the September utility bills that could urge Turlockers to vote “yes” on the half-cent road tax.
At the time of the mailing, which included one Measure A insert and one Measure B insert, Wasden said he approved the inserts as they were “educational and detailed.” Wasden later told Fox40 News that he wish he had scrutinized the inserts more.
Wasden has not been able to comment on whether or not the pay raise could sway the TAPO vote, as he is out of the office for the week.
Holeman is not at liberty of speaking of the specifics of the contract at this time, per ground rules set at the beginning of negotiations.
Mayor John Lazar also could not comment on the raise, citing that labor negotiations are confidential, pursuant to the Brown Act.
If the members in attendance of today’s meeting do not approve the contract with a majority vote, the union will look to continue negotiations with Wasden and the City.
“We’ll end up going back to the table with the City and hopefully the membership will tell us why they voted against the contract, so we can have that information to present to the City and explain to them what the members’ desires were, what they did or did not like about the contract, and we’ll hopefully continue with negotiations with the City and come to a contract that we all agree upon,” said Holeman.
It’s called a bribe to vote to accept the contract and stop making the city manager Roy Wasden look bad. Stand strong Turlock police.
Is this illegal to give out tax payer money council didn’t approve? The employees didn’t even approve the pay raise. Something is fishy here. Ask the city attorney if this is illegal. Is she working on making wasden doesn’t get the city in more lawsuits or having cupcakes at the chamber of commerce all the time?
PD deserves pay raises. Good on them for expediting the process.
No it’s called a step increase.
Much deserved!
How sad that our slime ball city manager thinks he can toy with the wages of the brave men and women protecting our streets. Was this a way for him to sway TAPO to approving their contract?
The police officers take a cut year after year and now all of a sudden good old charmer, Roy’s contract is up for renewal and suddenly the police officers get a raise?
And where is Phaedra when all of this is happening? Shouldn’t a city attorney be the one to say, “calm down Roy. Don’t do that!”
Phaedra and Roy, Turlock’s Bonnie & Clyde
So they get a raise and in one day I saw 4 cops sitting behind building talking on cell phone having a good time. One of them watched a car run a red light and just let it happen how lame. one cop was sitting by western dental in his care for like 25 mins on the phone. Another one was behind a tire store on a cell phone. maybe if they patrolled more these people would stop groping the kids of Turlock.
To Guest Turlocker
Turlock Police Officer’s DID NOT receive a pay raise. City Manager Wasden assumed Turlock Police Officers would agree to HIS contract and he paid all officers a percentage of pay incentives prior to the ratification of their contract however the contract went down in defeat.
If your concerned about your taxes paying city employee wages then question why the City Manager is receiving a 3 year contract on October 14th boosting his salary not including benefits from $217,000 a year to $248,000.
Sometimes duties are performed in their cars including taking reports by telephone and writting reports. If you see inappropriate mingling then walk over and ask them what they’re doing. I think you would be surprised to find the mingling is business related or just maybe they are taking a 15 minute break in an 11 hour day.
. . . or perhaps, just perhaps the economy and budget improved enough this year to pay the officers a little more. No grand conspiracy.
Yea go over ask them what they are doing and get a bogus charge of obstruction and a baton to the face sorry I would rather not ask a cop why he is not doing his job and keep my self safe yes I have heard police officers threaten people with harm even why complying no I am not a criminal and never have been though I have worked with Turlock Pd I will not say who I am for I fear for me and my family’s safety. Quote from a Turlock PD officer “cause remember we are family and family backs each other up no matter what”.
City manager yes he is a Ass hat but so is most of this city’s representatives.
What happened to this bribe that Turlock City Manager Roy Wasden gave the Turlock Police union so he could get his own raise without Council approval?
The latest news I saw in the Turlock Journal was that the Turlock police rejected the contract bribe by Wasden and that City Attorney Phaedra Norton was still in a lawsuit suing the police trying to keep them from getting their raises from 3 years ago.
I stand behind the Turlock police and think the City Council needs to stop harassing the police officers who deal with all the increased crime in our city. Does the Council see all the crime stories on Turlock City News.com and on Facebook? They deserve a raise more than the city manger and city attorney who got over $200,000 a year salary and raise by John Lazar.