City to consider police pay raise

CLOVIS — City commissioners will consider approval of updated working terms with the Clovis Police Department, including a small pay increase, when they meet at 5:15 p.m. Thursday at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library.

The agreement between Clovis city management and the Clovis Police Officers Association would run through Aug. 15, 2021, and calls for a 2.5 percent pay increase in the first pay period following its approval by all parties.

The Clovis Police Department does collective bargaining for its employees, and the city provides all CPD employees the opportunity to participate in benefits packages.

The agreement has 40 sections covering items ranging from how vacancies are filled to shift bidding to an officer’s work week — a 40-hour week in either five eight-hour shifts or four 10-hour shifts, with the understanding a 12-hour shift may apply during critical incidents or catastrophic events.

Other items on the Thursday agenda include:

• A report from the Clovis Wastewater Department, likely covering overall operations with a specific focus on the city’s effluent use system and a pilot program to accept wastewater from the Southwest Cheese plant.

• An agreement with Wright Water Engineers Inc., not to exceed $30,000, to assist in appraising two properties for the purposes of groundwater banking. The landowners have expressed interest in partnering with the city in a pilot project to pursue conservation easements.

• A purchase of a radar speed sign to be placed on Echols Avenue. The $18,710 unit would be portable and solar-powered. The Public Works Committee has discussed on several occasions resident concerns of speeding on Echols between Purdue and 21st streets.

• Renewal of a contract with Everbridge Nixle Community Alert System. The contract would lock in an annual rate of $5,822.05 for three years, and estimates are the annual fee would be $5,996.71 without the long-term option. The city has contracted with Everbridge since 2014.

• A request for the city to act as fiscal agent for the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico during the 2019 state legislative session.

• The meeting will be preceded by a 4:30 p.m. executive session to discuss the acquisition or disposal of property and limited personnel matters.