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Each year, every Newark police officer and firefighter receives a stipend to pay for uniforms and equipment to do his or her job.
Those stipends, guaranteed by union contracts, are held in individual accounts by a quartermaster. Police officers and firefighters can request uniforms and other items they want to buy with their allotted funds throughout the year. What they don't spend, they receive in cash at the end of each year.
In 2009, each police officer received $1,250 and each firefighter received $950.
The safety officers used their annual uniform allowances for boots, flashlights and raincoats, but also for laptops and digital cameras. Although the purchases become the employee's personal property, city officials said all the purchases are related to the job.
According to an analysis by The Advocate, on average, the police officers spent about $513 on gear and clothing and another $284 on electronics. That means at the end of the year, the average officer received a check for about $453.
Similarly, the firefighters spent an average of $305 on gear and clothing and another $185 on electronics. They received, on average, about $460 at the end of the year.
'EVERYTHING HAS TO BE TIED TO OUR JOB'
Although firefighters' turnout gear is supplied, they are required to use their allowance to buy their uniforms. Similarly, police officers initially are supplied with a uniform, but they must update it as items wear out.
According to the contract, the quartermaster from the respective departments inspects officers' uniforms to ensure they have the proper attire, a change from the past when individuals would just receive a blanket check for the full stipend.
But police officers and firefighters also have been allowed to purchase gear and other optional items listed in the contract before receiving the check for the balance of their account in December.
According to information obtained from a public records request, shirts, pants and boots dominated the list of requests.
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