The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 33, which represents the officers, sergeants, and lieutenants of the Cape Coral Police Department, and city officials are extremely pleased with the outcome of the recent contract negotiations and the efficiency of the overall process.

Yesterday, City of Cape Coral officials unanimously voted in favor of a new three-year agreement. Negotiations closed on a positive note with a showing of unity in the need to bring all positions into City Manager, John Szerlag’s goal of the 75^th percentile of salaries to remain competitive with other cities. 

Using comparable data of cities around the state of a similar size, the average Cape Coral officers’ salaries will now fall into the appropriate percentile.  

“The police union is extremely pleased with the outcome of the negotiations,” said Sergeant Paul Blanchard, President of the Cape Coral FOP Lodge 33. “Both sides were committed to making forward progress and we commend the city and union officials for understanding our needs and working towards our goals.”

A full-service law enforcement agency, the Cape Coral Police Department is made up of a number of units, including patrol, investigation, traffic, K9, aviation, marine and others, has over 250 sworn officers and serves over 180,000 residents. 

Cape Coral is ranked as one of the top three safest cities with a population over 150,000.

When they are not protecting the citizens of Cape Coral, police officers donate their time and talent to support community outreach events, including the annual back-to-school shopping trip, 5K run/walk, the holiday shopping trip as well as prostate cancer awareness and hunger relief, just to name a few.

The FOP Local 33 is located at 1404 Del Prado Blvd. S, Suite 145, in Cape Coral. Online: CapeCoralFOPLodge33.org.