Domestic partners of St. Petersburg police officers can now access health insurance benefits thanks to a historic move by the City Council and the city’s police union.
The Suncoast Police Benevolent Association voted 216-2 on Friday, Sept. 3, to ratify a new labor contract that includes same-sex health benefits. The St. Petersburg Police Department is the third major law enforcement agency in Tampa Bay to offer same-sex health benefits.
The Tampa Police Department has offered benefits since 2004 and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department offered the benefits beginning in 2006.
St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster, who during his campaign said he would research the benefits of domestic partnership provision for gay and lesbian employees, said he expects all full time city workers to gain the benefit in the coming months.
During a city council meeting, Foster said that offering same-sex health benefits makes fiscal and business sense for the city and that “It’s the right thing to do.”
He also said that it wasn’t a tough decision for him, which came as a surprise to many in the LGBT community who sees the mayor as a conservative Christian who has often voiced his concern over what he has said is an environment not suitable for families surrounding St. Pete Pride.
“It wasn’t a tough decision,” he said of adding the new benefits. “It’s something I said I’d do during the campaign. Quite frankly, I want to make sure that our police officers’ compensation packages are competitive.”
The approved three-year contract for rank-and-file officers also gives step increases, which are raises given for years of service.
Freshman city council member Steve Kornell, who is gay, was happy with the progressive step and spoke briefly about the change at the AIDS Walk St. Petersburg on Sept. 11.
“It’s an amazing thing and a step in the right direction,” he said. “I’m very proud of our mayor and of our city.”
While the decision has sparked some minor controversy among more conservative groups, officials don’t expect the contract to exclude same-sex domestic partnerships in the future.
In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Foster had this to say:
“When people call for a police officer, I generally believe that sexual orientation is the last thing on their minds.”
