A panel of three Memphis City Council members meeting Thursday, May 21, unanimously approved a 3 percent pay raise for Memphis police officers in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The council impasse committee approved the last best offer of the Memphis Police Association over the last best offer of the administration of Mayor A C Wharton Jr., which was for no pay raise.

Memphis police officers will receive a 3 percent pay raise in the coming fiscal year under a plan unanimously approved by a Memphis City Council panel.

(Daily News File/Andrew J. Breig)

Each side in the dispute made its case to the committee chaired by council member Wanda Halbert and including council members Reid Hedgepeth and Bill Morrison.

The agreement is for two years with a wage reopener clause in the second year.

The impasse committee’s decision is reported to the full council and becomes final unless the council specifically votes to veto it.

The union and the administration differed even on the impact of the pay raise on the still-forming city budget for the new fiscal year.

The union estimated it adds $3 million to the city’s operating budget. The administration estimated it at $5.8 million.

Memphis Police Association attorney Deborah Godwin also referred to the pay hike as “an adjustment in the pay grade and the base wage rate in order to be competitive for recruitment and retention.”