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Lake Clarke Shores approves new police contract, boosts retirement and pay to improve competitiveness
Summary
Council approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the Palm Beach County PBA that raises starting pay for officers, moves several officers to higher pay steps and increases town retirement contributions for officers; council also approved retirement-provider changes and raised general‑employee contributions.
The Lake Clarke Shores Town Council on Tuesday approved a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association designed to raise officer pay and improve recruitment and retention.
Town manager Joe Labella summarized the labor agreement and its budget impact, saying the town increased starting officer pay and made step adjustments for several officers. "The starting salary went from 58,000 to 73,000 for officers," Labella said during the presentation of the contract terms. He added that adjustments for mid‑career officers and the retirement changes together add several hundred thousand dollars a year to personnel costs.
A key change in the agreement affects retirement: rather than maintaining an unchanged defined‑benefit plan, the town and the union agreed not to adopt a defined benefit but to increase the town contribution to officers' defined‑contribution accounts. Labella said the town's contribution for officers was increased from 9% to 20%, producing a material annual cost increase but putting the department "in the market" for recruitment.
The council voted to approve the collective bargaining agreement. A separate council action also authorized a resolution (Resolution 2607) to change the town’s defined contribution and deferred compensation plan provider to the Florida Municipal Pension Trust Fund and to authorize the town manager to cancel the current 401(a) agreements; staff said that change would reduce provider fees and involve no direct cost to the town because service fees are participant‑paid.
Following the labor and provider actions, councilors debated townwide personnel policy and voted to raise the general (non‑police) employee defined‑contribution employer contribution from 9% to 12% (a 3‑percentage‑point increase). Town staff presented approximate per‑percent cost estimates for budget planning. Council separately approved proposed salary adjustments for the police chief and lieutenant outside the CBA to bring those positions more toward market levels.
Council members framed the actions as necessary to restore competitiveness after years of lagging pay and to reduce turnover; town staff said the moves are expected to aid recruitment and help stabilize staffing. The votes on the CBA, the provider change and the contribution increases passed with council approval.
