The Gage County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Dec. 24 to disapprove the Fraternal Order of Police(FOP) final contract offer, and directed staff to prepare a last-and-best offer for the board to consider at its Jan. 8 meeting.

Board members raised budget and equity concerns during the discussion, saying the FOPproposal sought a roughly 20% pay increase that would be difficult to justify across all county departments. "In this agreement, they're asking for another 20%," the board chair said during debate, noting the county must weigh taxpayer impact and equity with other courthouse departments.

Supervisors cited prior increases and the countybudget constraints as central considerations. A law enforcement committee made up of board members worked on negotiations and attempted to narrow differences with the FOP, but the board concluded the presented final offer was not acceptable and voted to disapprove it. The motion to disapprove was made by Lytle and seconded by Haxby.

The board said it had met in closed session earlier in the meeting to discuss contract negotiations and that it would forward a new, final offer to the FOP in good faith for the Jan. 8 meeting. "We are going to have a last best offer that we will offer to them," a supervisor said, and the board confirmed it will vote on that offer at the next meeting.

No vote tally by individual supervisor name was recorded in the public transcript beyond the roll call count; the chair announced the disapproval vote as 5 in favor, none opposed. The board also noted that negotiations and any future action remain subject to the county's budgetary limits and collective bargaining processes.

The next procedural step is the board's Jan. 8 meeting, when the supervisors said they will present and vote on the last-and-best offer to the FOP.