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A tentative contract has been reached between representatives of the union representing Columbus police officers and the city that includes a large payout for officers in exchange for somechanges to how alleged police misconduct investigationsare carried out, The Dispatch has learned.

Members of the Fraternal Order of Police Capitol City Lodge No. 9are currently voting on the proposed contract through Saturday night. If the contract is approved by the members of the union, Columbus City Council would then vote on whether to accept the contract perhaps as soon as Monday, the body's last meeting before its summer break.

FOP Local 9 leaders say they will not comment publicly about the tentative contract until after it is voted on by membership, which includes about 1,900 members from officers up to commanders.

Highlights of the new contract:

Mayor Andrew J. Ginther's office did not respond to questions from The Dispatch about where the money for the pay increases and the buyouts will come from. However, sources have speculated to the newspaper that the buyout money will from from federal COVID-19 relief funds.

"We are encouraged to have reached a tentative agreement through the collective bargaining process, but it is important to let the process play out free of interference and for members to cast their vote," Ginther said in a prepared statement.

The new Civilian Police Review Board, approved by 74% of voters in November 2020 and seated by Ginther and City Council earlier this year, was expected to be a sticking point in negotiations. Ginther and other city leaders had said publicly they expected to negotiate language into the contract that would take away some of the police union's power in investigations and give more authority to the review board and newly created Inspector General position.

More: Columbus police union seeks to stop interviews with officers in protest misconduct probe

However, the language in the proposed contract shows no significant deletions from the contract approved in 2018. There is some new language connected to the Civilian Review Board and Office of Inspector General.

More: Read the FOP's 2018contract with the city

According to the tentative contract agreement, the review board will not have subpoena power. Officers can be ordered by the police chief as under previous contracts, or bythe Office of the Inspector General to appear and participate in investigations into allegations of misconduct or behavior that are not criminal in nature.

If an officer is suspected of criminal misconduct, they cannot be forced to participate because of Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

More: Columbus police union seeks to stop interviews with officers in protest misconduct probe

Civilian Review Board representatives can be present at departmental hearings for officer discipline before the Director of Public Safety, according to the proposed contract. Those hearings would continue to not be open to the public.

An investigator from the Office of the Inspector General can also observe criminal investigations, according to the proposed contract, but neither the Inspector General or the Civilian Review Board can conduct investigations into alleged criminal misconduct.

The proposed contract would requiresuspensions, demotions or terminationsto be kept in an officer's personnel record for eight years, compared to the six years required under the current extended contract. That means if an officer is to receive progressive discipline, a suspension is kept on their record to be used for eight years.

In July, Ginther told The Dispatch that the city would be pushing for increases in the length of times complaints stay in an officer's personnel file andmandatory post-incident drug and alcohol testing after a shooting or deadly use of force.Drug and alcohol testing is included in the tentative new contract.

More: What we know about charges against three Columbus police officers from 2020 protests

In late December, Ginther said the top priority as it related to the Civilian Review Board was to make sure it had subpoena power and the ability to make recommendations to the chief about officer discipline.

The new contract also would increase the ability for body cameras to have a two-minute look-back window with audio. The department's body cameras currently have a 60-second lookback feature that does not include audio.

This lookback feature proved important in the shooting death of Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man, by former Columbus police officer Adam Coy in December. Coy's body camera was not activated at the time of the shooting, but captured video without audio of the incident. Coy has since been fired and indicted on charges of murder, felonious assault and reckless homicide. He has a scheduled status conference hearing Wednesday on his case.

More: Columbus City Council expands body cam requirement for police working with state, feds

When the police union's contract had expired with the city in December 2017, it took until November 2018 for terms to be finalized. That process involved having a fact-finder issue a report about resolving key issues surrounding pay raises, pension premiums and insurance coverage. That contract was ultimately approved by City Council in January 2019 and became retroactive to Jan. 1, 2018. The Columbus Division of Police has continued to operate under the expired contract during the negotiation process, which began in mid-2020, but was stalled by COVID-19.

More: Read the FOP's 2018-2020contract with the citythat members continue to work under

Should either side reject the tentative agreement, the negotiation process would proceed to the factfinding process.

A factfinder would be hired to examine the proposed changes to the contract from each side and issue a report as to resolutions to those issues. The union and City Council would have to vote to accept the changes outlined in the factfinder's report or the process would then go to binding arbitration. An arbitrator would be selected by mutual agreement and whatever the arbitrator decides would be the final contract terms.

Columbus firefighters agreed to take no pay raise in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but will receive a 2.5% raise in 2022 and 3.5% raise in 2023, in accordance with the terms of the contract approved in November by International Association of Fire Fighters Local 67, which has more than 1,550 members. The cost of that three-year contract to the city was expected totalmore than $20.1 million.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

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Columbus and police union reach tentative 3-year contract calling for 14% raises, buyouts - The Columbus Dispatch