Cheney staff preview 2025–27 police guild contract that would raise top pay about 18%

City staff on March 11 gave council a first look at a tentative three‑year contract with the Cheney Police Guild that staff said is intended to help recruit and retain officers.

Mark Schuler, who was introduced to the council as Mr. Schuler and presented the proposal, told council the main changes are economic. "Monthly wages, we were proposing a 5% increase in 2025, 7 in '26, and 6 in '27, totaling an 18% over the course of the 3 year contract," he said. Schuler also described new classifications (a corporal rank to develop future supervisors) and changes to specialty pay to align with regional comparables, including pay for drone operators and behavioral health unit personnel.

Schuler said the city has recruited laterals recently and that the contract is aimed at reducing turnover and overtime. He noted regional recruiting pressures, including some agencies offering $25,000 signing bonuses to laterals and other sizable incentives.

Council members pressed staff for fiscal detail and operational effects. Questions focused on how many officers currently occupy top‑step pay, the contract's impact on the 2025 budget, and the cash‑out of accumulated vacation as a liability. Schuler said staff had not finished computing total cost estimates and would return with numbers at a later meeting.

Several council members asked how mandatory overtime and minimum staffing provisions would work in practice. Lieutenant Oaks (operations) described a volunteer/cycle system for overtime assignments and said detectives recommended retaining tools that allow investigators to follow up on crimes reported late.

Next steps: this was a presentation and discussion; the guild membership has already approved the agreement on their side and staff told council they will return with a final contract, cost figures and recommended action at a subsequent meeting.