Council approves police union contract, updates bereavement language; several resolutions pass

The Middleton Common Council approved a collective bargaining agreement with the Middleton Professional Police Association (MPPA) covering Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2028, and adopted finance‑committee recommended edits to bereavement leave language.

During discussion, Alder Myers congratulated the Police Chief and identified a typographical error in the redline version of the contract’s term (section 21.1), prompting the council to strike an extraneous digit so the document properly reads 2026. Staff and the finance committee also recommended clarifying language in section 10.3 to expand bereavement leave to include step‑relatives; Alder Haneiro noted the change would add coverage for stepparents and stepsiblings for up to five days without loss of pay.

Alder Schaefer and others seconded motions and the council approved the amended contract unanimously. Chief Brian was thanked for his work on the negotiation and offered to answer questions.

The council also approved three resolutions by voice vote: Resolution 2025‑01 establishing the minimum number of election officials at polling places, Resolution 2026‑02 adopting equipment rates for contracted services and ordinance violation assessments, and Resolution 2026‑03 reappropriating 2025 year‑end capital funds into 2026 with related budget adjustments.

What was decided: the MPPA contract was approved with minor redline corrections and updated bereavement definitions (as recommended by the finance committee), and three routine resolutions were adopted.

Next steps: staff will implement the contract changes and process budget reappropriations as adopted.