The police union and the University finalized contract negotiations Friday at the University’s Board of Trustees meeting.

The board went into executive session and came back only a few minutes later with the announcement.

The two parties negotiated using interest-based bargaining, which means they discussed each party’s interests instead of their positions, said Rebecca Ferguson, chief human resources officer.

“The parties mutually work together to achieve what is necessary,” Ferguson said. “I am really really proud of these police officers and this chief of police that got this done.”

This is the second time the two parties have used interest-based bargaining; they also used it a year ago to negotiate a short-term contract, said Monica Moll, director of Public Safety.

“With interest-based bargaining, it takes a lot longer,” Moll said. “It’s the opposite of position-based bargaining.”

The bargaining started out by each side making a list of issues, many of which were the same, Moll said.

The parties then ranked the issues and tackled the easiest first, in order to build momentum, Moll said. Each party then stated why it was interested in the issue and discussed the options for fixing the problems. The sides ultimately ended up with the same goals, Moll said.

The contract was negotiated for the period of July 1, 2012 to July 30, 2015. The union’s previous contract had expired before this one was completed, Moll said.

The union will get a raise, but it’s not an across the board raise, Moll said.

“[We’re] trying to bring officers up to the same rate,” she said.

Dispatchers will be on a three year pay plan and officers will be on a five year pay plan, Moll said.

“[The pay] is tied to training and competency,” Moll said. “[They] must achieve benchmarks to get the next pay increase.”

For officers, there will be a seven percent average pay increase, Moll said.

Detective Sean Beavers was present when the board made the decision and he said he’s absolutely happy with it. Beavers is also the vice president of the union and was on the bargaining team.

In addition to the pay increase, the negotiations also helped the union to establish a more efficient scheduling system, Moll said.

The system helped save money in overtime, which went to pay salaries, Moll said.

The board also approved a salary raise and bonus for University President Mary Ellen Mazey at its meeting.

William Primrose, chair of the board, announced the raise after the board came out of its executive session Friday afternoon.

“The board is 1,000 percent behind Mary Ellen and we think she’s just doing a great job,” Primrose said.

The board increased Mazey’s base pay by two percent and gave her a $50,000 bonus, which Mazey said she will give to student scholarships.

Previously, Mazey’s salary was $375,100, according to a University document featuring gross earnings for the fiscal year 2011-12. With the raise, which was effective immediately, Mazey’s salary is now $382,602.

“At this time, we’re all about student success,” Mazey said.

The raise isn’t anymore than the board has given other constituent groups, Primrose said.

“We really feel this is fair and equitable to all parties,” he said.

Other staff members and faculty administrators also got raises, which were approved July 1 and took affect in September, Mazey said.

The board is supposed to review Mazey yearly, but this time it made the review late as she has been here for a year and a half.

The board also approved some other resolutions, such as the Inclusive Early Childhood Education program.

The new undergraduate program is a birth to third grade program that will provide graduates with two teaching licenses — pre-kindergarten to third grade early childhood and pre-kindergarten to third grade intervention specialist plus an Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities certificate. The combination of these licenses and certificate will allow graduates to teach young children with and without disabilities in integrated settings,” according to a press release from the University. The University plans to start accepting students in the program during fall 2013, according to the press release.

“It will establish BG’s innovative leadership,” said Rodney Rogers, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs.

The board approved a resolution for the University to go forward with plans to renovate the elevators in Offenhauer Residence Hall.

The elevators in both towers have the original equipment, said Sherideen Stoll, chief financial officer.

The renovations will be paid for from 2010 bonded funds of $1,470,481.