LONG OVERDUE

Settlement of Cocoa Police Contract Can Put Focus Back on the
Streets

It was a case study in how not to negotiate a new contract with local
police.

By both sides.

Fortunately, the four-year fight between the city of Cocoa and its
unionized police officers ended Tuesday, when the City Council
approved a new three-year contract for the department's 71 employees.

The pact calls for an 8.5 percent pay hike, which will boost the
starting salary of rookie officers to $34,233. Officers with three
years' experience on the force will see their paychecks increase to
$41,997 by 2009, with sergeant's pay rising to $60,322.

The contract will help the department recruit and retain officers in a
city where drugs, gangs and violent crime are a major problem.

For instance, the department had been down eight officers earlier this
year, stretching patrols at a time when more, not fewer, officers are
needed on the streets.

Five new hires are just starting, bringing the department's number to
68.

Cocoa police have one of the toughest jobs on the Space Coast. They're
also involved with the Community Solutions Task Force, a countywide
group attacking crime in the black community.

With the contract settled, we encourage both sides to put hard
feelings aside and focus all their attention where it's needed most:

Protecting the city's residents and putting the criminals in jail.