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Police union presses Lewiston to keep 'for cause' protections and seek specialty pay increases
Summary
Lewis Clark Lodge No. 10 (FOP) asked Lewiston council to retain 'for cause' disciplinary protections, press for specialty-pay increases including a raise in detective pay and weekend standby pay for investigators (about $21,000 annually); councilors and staff debated overtime calculations and whether to negotiate 'at-will' status.
The Lewis Clark Lodge No. 10 of the Fraternal Order of Police urged Lewiston City Council to preserve 'for cause' protections and accept several pay adjustments as negotiations continue over the police labor contract.
Nikki Province, the city's Human Resources director, told the council the agenda item was intended to update members and solicit direction on negotiation points. "We're looking to you to kind of give us direction on negotiation points," Province said, introducing specialty-pay and overtime items the union has requested.
The union, represented in part by Josh Ring, who identified himself as an officer with the Lewiston Police Department and president of the lodge, asked that contractual protections for discipline and termination remain. "One of the protections that we have as a union is justifiable cause," Ring said, urging the council to keep 'for cause' language in the next contract rather than move to an at-will framework.
Union negotiators also requested changes to specialty-pay categories. Staff and FOP representatives described some payments as instructor or specialty pay — for example, firearms pay is structured as an instructor rate for a limited number of officers who are certified to teach firearms, not pay tied purely to firearm use. Detectives currently receive a 5% premium; the union is seeking to move that to 6% and to add weekend standby pay for investigators.
City staff said investigators do not receive standby pay now and that adding a weekend rotation (one detective on call each weekend) at the city's personnel-policy standby rate would cost about $21,000 annually and is not included in the 2026 budget. "It would be approximately 21,000 annually," Province said when asked about the budget impact.
Councilors also debated how overtime should be calculated. The current collective-bargaining language counts paid leave (vacation, sick, holiday, comp time) toward hours that determine overtime; the city has previously asked negotiators to pursue a 40-hours-worked threshold for overtime eligibility, excluding paid leave. Councilors raised fairness concerns, saying counting paid leave toward overtime can create situations that feel open to gaming and may complicate scheduling.
City staff described the operational side of the at-will versus for-cause question: while many nonpublic-safety positions are at will under personnel policy, the city also follows progressive disciplinary steps and pre-discharge procedures that require documentation. Staff told council members that shifting to at will would still be constrained by legal standards and documented processes.
No formal negotiations or contract votes occurred in open session. Staff said councilors could choose to retire to executive session to discuss labor contract offers or formulate a counteroffer.
Next steps: staff will continue negotiations with the union; council indicated it may move into executive session to discuss or negotiate further, and any agreed changes would need to be incorporated into the 2027 budget before final adoption.
