04/28/2026
At the conclusion of the April 27 Laurel City Council meeting, city officials and representatives from Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 11 signed a new collective bargaining agreement. Unlike previous CBAs, which covered three-year periods, the new agreement will cover the next four years, through 2030, at the request of the FOP. Mayor Sydnor thanked all involved in the negotiations for reaching agreement, sometimes requiring concessions and compromises. Laurel Police Chief Russ Hamill echoed those remarks and stressed how dedicated Laurel’s police officers are—he revealed that some of them had to leave the council meeting earlier to respond to a call involving violence. “They didn’t stall or think about what could happen to them.” Hamill also noted that, exactly 19 years earlier, he had responded to a call in which a police colleague lost his life in the line of duty. “This is what police do, for YOU. This contract allows us to stay competitive when recruiting additional officers.”
