Raises OK'd for Pottstown Police Chief and Captain

Police Chief Rick Drumheller got a raise last night.

So did Police Captain Robert Thomas.

I can tell you how much Drumheller will make, and how much Thomas will make, but I cannot tell you with certainty how much of a raise they received.

That's because no one at the council table Monday night had any information about how much either one made in 2016.

The addendums unanimously approved for Drumheller's contact include a new salary of $107,376 an

Pottstown Police Chief Rick Drumheller

increase in his uniform allowance from $1,000 to $1,500 per year and the ability to work "special details" at a rate of $51 per hour.

The addendums unanimously approved for Thomas's new contract include a new salary of $96,526, the addition of four personal days and 122 sick days and a $500 payment if he does not use the sick days. Thomas is also not allowed to bank those days said solicitor Matthew Hovey.

Also, Thomas will per permitted to work "special details," like drug task force and DUI patrols for a rate of $46 per hour. He will also be allowed to participate in the delayed retirement program known as DROP for four years instead of the current three.

What Hovey could tell me is that both Drumheller and Thomas work on a two-year-renewal cycle for their contracts.

Police Capt. Robert Thomas

In that case, according to reporting I did in 2015, I can guess that Drumheller received a $4,176 raise over last year, given that the 2015 raise was awarded at the last meeting of the year by the outgoing borough council.

That's a raise of 4.05 percent for 2017, above the 3.25 percent raise Drumheller's officers will receive this year as a result of the three-year contract approved in February by borough council.

As for Thomas, he is receiving a $3,326 raise from the last reported salary to this one. That's a raise of 3.6 percent, also more than the officers in the police union.

Council also voted on a number of items, with little discussion. You can find them reported in the Tweets below.

In fact the item which generated the most discussion was an item council ended up tabling, a request by Allied Psychiatry and Psychology Services to rent 20 parking spaces in the Park and  Shop lot at the corner of High and Charlotte streets.

The reduced rate would be $20 per space each month. Sheila Dugan, executive director of the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority, asked council for a delay because the PDIDA board has not had enough time to get input from other area merchants on the impact of losing those spaces.

Here are the Tweets: