MACOMB – With contract negotiations coming up for Police, Fire and Public Works Department employees, the City of Macomb may look to outside sources for help with the collective bargaining process.
On Monday night by an 8-1 vote, the city council agreed to start gathering information about what it would take to hire collective bargaining help, including where the negotiator would come from and how much it would cost.
Macomb Mayor Mick Wisslead says potential cost will be one of the biggest factors when making this decision.
"It may be too expensive," said Wisslead. "The comment was made earlier that when we did it before, we hired a firm out of Chicago to do it. They charged about $320 an hour, and that was about seven years ago."
Wisslead could not say exactly how much an outside negotiator would cost today, but hopes to keep any potential cost down to about $5,000 for each department negotiation, which would mean a cost of $15,000 overall.
Wisslead says the city will look to firms closer to home this time in cities such as Galesburg, Canton and Peoria. He says the city will likely make a final decision by early next month.
To listen to the council's discussion on this matter, hit play on the audio bar above.