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Council adopts amendments to police union agreements to formalize field-training pay practice
Summary
Council approved amendments to two police department labor agreements to codify a long-standing practice paying Field Training Officers (FTOs) for training time, aligning payroll coding with a recent state law change and clarifying overtime handling.
The City Council approved two resolutions amending agreements between the City of North Little Rock and police labor organizations to formalize a longstanding Field Training Officer (FTO) pay practice.
City staff and Chief Tassin explained that the amendments reflect a long-standing local practice — FTOs receive additional compensation (either an hour or time-and-a-half equivalent in comp time) for training officers — that had not been written into the collective bargaining agreements. Staff said the amendments were necessary after the state-level One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed overtime coding for certain public-safety employees and payroll staff identified hours coded to training programs.
Chief Tassin described the field training program as structured and certified, with supervisors heavily involved, and said the incentive pay had been in place for at least 10–15 years. “We have a very robust field training program... we’ve been incentivizing those field training officers... for at least the last 10–15 years,” the chief said.
Council members said the change mainly documents an established practice and asked clarifying questions about the retroactivity and payroll adjustments; staff said the amendments were to ensure coding and contract language matched practice so payroll could process the payments appropriately.
The council adopted the resolutions for both bargaining units (R-26-102 and R-26-103) by voice vote. The amendments were placed on the consent agenda together and carried after discussion.
What happens next: The city will implement the contract language changes in payroll and ensure future pay is coded consistent with the amended agreements.
