(July 19, 2005) -- After publicly rejecting a previous management offer by a wide margin, and publicly threatening to hold City Hall officials accountable for wages and benefits they said were uncompetitive and would ultimately erode the LB Police Dept. -- the rank and file members of the LB Police Officers Association have accepted a new contract with LB City Hall.

In a written release, LBPOA says the four-year contract "guarantees that Long Beach officers' compensation will be at the median of Police Officers' salaries in the 10 largest cities in the state by the time it expires" on Sept. 30, 2009. It also calls for police officers "to pay a portion of their retirement costs and to continue to share in the rising costs of health insurance."

The agreement comes after LB police officers worked without a contract for over a year and went without wage adjustments for four years. Their first raise since 2001 will come on October 1, 2005.

"We are glad to have reached this agreement with the city," said Lt. Steve James, President of the 900 member LBPOA. He added, "Our police officers have been underpaid for a long time," This fair and equitable contract goes a long way to rectifying that injustice."