Tuesday, September 8, 2026
800 Days
It has been 800 days since June 30, 2024. The significance of that day is not lost upon the members of the New Bedford Police Union, as that is the date that our last contract expired. We have been negotiating for a contract for far longer than 800 days (roughly over 1000 days) and are no closer to a resolution than when we first started. It has been a long and arduous process, and though we are currently in arbitration through the Joint Labor-Management Committee (JLMC), it does not appear to be coming to an end any time soon.
What are some of the hang ups you may ask? They include a proper education based incentive for officers (commonly referred to as the Quinn Bill), proper wage compensation to make us a more competitive department compared to our comparable cities, a competitive detail rate which will bring us up to par with surrounding cities and towns, an increase in the night shift differential, and correcting language for a sergeant’s differential from a patrol officer, so that even with a Master’s Degree a patrol officer does not make more than a supervisor.
The NBPU recognizes that the City is currently facing real financial challenges. The people of our city are struggling, families are struggling, and the Mayor has asked every city department to make difficult choices during these times. We are not asking to be the best paid police department in the area, we are asking to be competitive, because falling behind has cost us all more than the cost or simply retaining officers that have already been trained.
It is a substantial investment made by the City in every officer serving our community; from recruitment, background investigations, academy training, field training (a proper FTO program is also lacking here), specialized certifications, equipment training (to include computers, vehicles, etc), overall supervision and years of experience. When an officer makes the conscious decision to leave, the City and its taxpayers are not just losing an employee, they’re losing an investment made in that officer. Once that officer leaves the whole process begins anew, with a different officer, during which time until that new officer is properly vetted and trained, there are potential overtime or other staffing costs to cover the vacancy. The departing officer had acquired local knowledge of the area, specialized skills, and training in using sound judgment, which must now be learned by the incoming officer.
One resignation can create several costs at once, recruitment expenses, academy and field training costs, overtime for existing officers, reduced staffing for proactive and specialized work, and the loss of productivity that comes with bringing a new officer up to full effectiveness. Those costs can continue for years. An experienced officer can handle complex calls, mentor newer employees, and contribute immediately. A replacement may require substantial training before providing the same level of service. Even if the City does not write a separate check for every one of these costs, taxpayers still pay for them through overtime, delayed investigations, reduced capacity, and repeated hiring and training.
This is not fiscal responsibility, but instead a burden on the taxpayers of the city by asking them to invest in building an experienced officer, losing that investment to a surrounding city or town, and then asking the taxpayers to continue rebuilding investments in the same manner.
It is no secret that due to falling behind, and the loss of personnel suffered over the years, we have experienced a loss of investigative units, collateral assignments, and most importantly, the frontline of any police department, experienced patrol officers. The departures you see are not just names, they are an investment paid for by the taxpayers, an investment who knows our city streets, residents in their respective areas, repeat offenders in their area, and the challenges facing our community. When they leave, the remaining officers carry heavier workloads, overtime increases, morale suffers, and the City loses valuable institutional knowledge. Those effects can also make the department less attractive to future applicants, creating a cycle in which vacancies lead to burnout, burnout leads to more departures, and more departures create additional vacancies.
Proper compensation should be evaluated as an annual personnel expense, and as a retention and cost control strategy. By providing a competitive contract, there can be a reduction in avoidable turnover (officers leaving for higher wages), protecting the taxpayer’s investment in training officers, potentially limit overtime costs caused by vacancies, preserve and potentially grow specialized services and assignments, and improve the overall ability to recruit and retain experienced officers. The question is not simply, “What will competitive wages cost?” The question should be, “What will continued turnover cost—and how much of that cost can be avoided by retaining the officers we already have?”
A fair contract, with competitive wages for not only the men and women currently serving our community, but also those who are looking to begin their law enforcement careers here in New Bedford, is an investment in public safety for the city and fiscal responsibility. Again, we are not asking to be made the highest paid department, but what we are asking for is the Mayor, the City, to recognize that retaining trained and experienced officers is less expensive and provides better service than repeatedly replacing them.
The Mayor, in many of his speeches throughout the city, has repeatedly touted a significant reduction in crime throughout the City of New Bedford. When mentioning this reduction, it is usually followed by a congratulation of sorts to the men and women of this Union, who have consistently put in the work over the years to achieve a reduction in crime and made the city safer overall. In response to that hard work, done collaboratively by patrol officers and officers in specialized investigative units, when it is time to present a fair and competitive contract, we are instead met with the bare minimum.
The people of New Bedford, our community, see the work that our members do every single day. Investigating and bringing to closure several homicide cases, investigating several violent crimes and shots fired incidents, removing illegally possessed firearms and dangerous illicit narcotics from our streets, assisting those who overdose and helping them obtain care through the LEAD and Outreach programs, investigating serious motor vehicle related incidents, promoting beneficial relationships with our youth through the Shannon Outreach program to deter them from entering into local and national level street gangs, and the many quality of life issue calls for service received on a daily basis. The New Bedford Police Union has continued to provide the absolute best services we can to our community, and we will continue to do so always.
In closing, I wish to say thank you to the people of New Bedford, to those who voice their support, who show their support in various ways, to the City Councilors who continue to advocate for us. Your continued advocacy makes all the difference in the world and shows us that at least the people of New Bedford recognize our efforts and contributions to the safety of OUR city.
In Unity and Respect,
Sgt. Lorenzo Gonzalez III
NBPU President
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