The ongoing process in East St. Louis concerning 16 police officer layoffs has gone back and forth, but the discussion between police union leaders and city officials seems to have made some significant progress.
According to KSDK, the city met with the police union Tuesday and East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. is "optimistic" that an agreement will be accepted by the union at another meeting, just of union members, taking place Thursday.
But what does the agreement up for a vote involve? KSDK explains:
Parks says all sworn police officers, union as well as non-union, plus one other non-union position, would take a temporary salary decrease for 2011. If the union agrees to this, then all 16 police officers laid off on January 1st would be reinstated.
And then what happens, if the police union, does indeed vote in-favor of the agreement?
The city council would have to meet to approve a new budget, Parks says.
About the other city workers laid off, Parks says that the hope is to reinstate those jobs as well, but that talks are still in progress with the respective unions of four public works positions, two telecommunication positions and one jailer.
