Michigan City council approves 2% raises for police and fire after tense public hearings

Michigan City Common Council on Dec. 16 approved a 2% salary increase for the city's fire and police departments for 2026, concluding weeks of public criticism and a neighborhood dispute over retiree health insurance and bargaining timelines.

Councilman Bridal Dabney, chairing the Labor Relations Committee, said the 2% increase was budgeted and that broader contract talks remain ongoing; he framed the amendment as a budgetary allocation, not a rewrite of collective bargaining agreements. Attorney Snow advised the council that a budgetary motion to allocate the wages was permissible while negotiations continue.

Union members and department representatives pressed the council in public comment. "When is enough enough?" asked Christopher, a firefighter representing Local 475, arguing that proposed contract changes would reduce retiree protections and that firefighters already work schedules that translate to hundreds of additional hours per year. Chris Bartek, a police officer and member of the FOP wage committee, said the police had notified the city of their intent to negotiate in the spring but were not afforded meaningful bargaining time this year, calling the city's scheduling "dismissive" and saying the committee had not received requested retiree data.

Council discussion focused on two distinct issues: (1) delivering the across-the-board 2% wage increase that the mayor had included in the budget, and (2) whether contract-language changes proposed by the city (including health insurance contribution adjustments for retirees) could be pressed ahead of or applied retroactively to current retirees. Union speakers warned that altering retiree benefit splits retroactively could raise legal and constitutional issues; public commenters cited Indiana Constitution Article I, Section 24 and referenced recent federal court rulings in related disputes.

The council adopted an amendment to the fire salary ordinance that implemented the 2% increase without changing other contract provisions, then voted to approve the ordinance as amended. A separate motion extended the same 2% increase to police pay and the police ordinance was advanced and adopted on third reading. Both final votes were recorded as unanimous in favor.

What happens next: councilmembers said they expect further negotiation meetings and suggested a workshop to review budget figures, potential overtime impacts and retiree-cost scenarios. Unresolved matters include the detailed accounting of how many retirees receive city-paid insurance and whether any future negotiated changes to retiree contribution splits will be limited to new hires rather than current retirees.

Provenance: transcript topic introduced SEG 1688; discussion and votes concluded SEG 2430.

Speakers (as identified in the transcript): Councilman Bridal Dabney (Labor Relations Committee), Christopher (firefighter, Local 475), Chris Bartek (Michigan City police officer, FOP wage committee), Brian Wright (FOP Dunes Lodge 75 president), Attorney Snow.

Authorities referenced: collective bargaining agreement provisions (as discussed in public comment); Indiana Constitution Article I, Section 24 (cited by commenters).

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