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MONROE — The Monroe Police Department union lawyer for patrol officers plans to meet with city officials soon to try to resolve why the unit soundly rejected a tentative contract recently reached between the city and union representatives.

Sticking points in the three-year pact with The Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association include paid vacation to match the city's fire department, which gets four weeks for 10 years of service — compared to patrol officers earning four weeks for 15 years of service — and not to have its health insurance costs rise until all the nonunion employees do, said Detective Ken Parson, who represents the patrol officers.

The union also is seeking retroactive pay in the agreement to May 30, he said.

Monroe City Manager William Brock said Tuesday, Sept. 29, "we're just going to basically go back to the table."

Parson said the union hopes to work out these issues with the city.

"It would save the city a lot of money because it cost a lot of money to go to fact-finder and conciliation," he said.

If after resuming contract negotiations both sides are still unable to come to terms, a fact-finder would be brought in for nonbinding arbitration, Parson said.

"If we go through fact-finder and we reject it again, we would go to what's called conciliation, which is binding arbitration. So we would have to accept what that person offers," he said.

The three-year contracts for the department's three sergeants and 17 patrol officers expired May 30.

The sergeants union was scheduled to vote on its new pact last week, but delayed its vote due to scheduling conflicts, Parson said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.