POULSBO — Poulsbo’s police officers and sergeants will get pay increases retroactive to January 2010, according to an arbitrator’s decision. But city officials wouldn’t estimate how much money that is Monday, saying they’ve requested clarification of a clause in the decision related to wages in 2010.

Mayor Becky Erickson said the city received the decision late Thursday.

Dan LaFrance, president of the Poulsbo Police Officers Association, was not available for comment Monday. But Erickson said the arbitrator’s decision is fair.

“It looks like it’s a fair settlement,” she said. “We prevailed on some issues, they prevailed on some … There is an increase in wages, but it’s not as much as (officers) wanted.”

The 11 patrol officers and three sergeants will receive raises of 1 to 3 percent, based on the cost of living index, in 2011 and 2012, Erickson said. She said the arbitrator decided in favor of the city on that issue. What’s not known is how much officers will get for 2010; that part is complicated by market adjustments and different wage classes, the mayor said. The arbitrator decided in favor of officers on that issue, she said.

The overall financial impact to the city, not yet calculated: Its own legal fees, its share of costs for the arbitrator, and the retroactive pay dating to January 2010.

Finance Director Debbie Booher said Monday the total cost to the city, and the total compensation owed officers, should be determined by the end of this week.

Poulsbo’s 11 patrol officers earn $31.07 an hour, and its three sergeants earn $35.36 an hour, according to a February story in the North Kitsap Herald. The bone of contention: Staff positions were cut by about 10 percent last year to help balance the budget, and all employees other than police officers agreed to a 1 percent wage raise for 2011.

The city offered a 1.7 percent wage increase for patrol officers and a 4.7 percent wage increase for sergeants last year, but the association was unhappy with a 3 percent decrease in benefits that members said would have negated their bumps in pay.

The city and police officers association agreed to arbitration in February after two years of negotiations failed to result in agreement. The arbitrator was provided by the Public Employment Relations Commission.

The city’s budget constraints kept the city and association from finding a middle ground.

“The city could not accept their position. We just couldn’t. It was too expensive,” Erickson said at the time.

The arbitrator’s decision is binding. LaFrance said in February that he and other officers would be glad to have the process behind them.

“We’re excited for the decision in the sense that no matter what, good or bad, we put on a good case,” LaFrance said.

The city last went to arbitration over a police association contract in 2002. Negotiations began mid-2000, and a contract was signed in October 2002. In that case, a decision wasn’t delivered by the arbitrator for six months, LaFrance said.

The contract with the police officers association is for three years. Negotiation on the next contract will start in late 2011/early 2012, Erickson said.