City Council approves agreement supporting Chandler police

PHOENIX — The Chandler Law Enforcement Association and the City Council reached an agreement on Wednesday that aims to retain current police officers and bring in new hires for the next contract period, officials announced.

The 2022-2024 Memorandum of Understanding agreement includes bumping Chandler from is position as the fourth-highest paid agency to the third highest among comparable agencies, pay for specialty assignments to interest people in difficult jobs and a one-time retention bonus, CLEA announced in a press release Thursday.

The two-year agreement will be implemented in the next fiscal year, beginning on July 22.

“We are advocating as much for our community as we are for our officers,” Michael Collins, CLEA president, said in the release. “We’ll continue to work with the city to find ways to support the work the police department does for our residents.”

The law enforcement association advocated for higher benefits and a retention strategy as staffing positions for the department haven’t been added since 2008, all while the city has grown by more than 50,000 residents, the release said.

The MOU was accepted by CLEA in December and approved by the Chandler City Council Wednesday.

“We appreciate that the city council recognizes the difficulties of policing for our current officers, and how competitive the market is for new recruits,” Collins said in the release.

“Our officers have worked incredibly hard for a very long time, and I’m glad we are able to find ways to reward them for the excellent job they have done to keep the community safe,” Collins said.

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