WEST GREENWICH — Capping more than a year of negotiations, the Town Council and the 10-member police officers union have signed a three-year contract — retroactive to July 1, 2007 — that reconfigures work shifts to eliminate built-in overtime and ensure that no officer is on duty alone in the nighttime hours.

The agreement signed Friday with Local 517 of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers provides first-year pay hikes ranging from 3 to 7 percent, depending on rank, to put salaries on a par with those in comparable communities; and 3 percent increases in each of the remaining years.

A central element of the contract is the overhauled shift structure.

Until now, officers have worked three days on, three days off, with each shift comprising 10 to 12 hours; that arrangement entails automatic overtime pay. Also, officers on the evening and overnight shifts have worked alone.

Under the new structure, four days on and two days off, officers will work eight-hour shifts; that configuration will add 61 working days to the year, allowing at least two officers to be assigned to the evening and overnight shifts.

Council President Thaylen R. Waltonen said changing the schedule works for both taxpayers and police officers.

“We are very pleased. It was a long, drawn-out process. We got a late start [in serious talks] mainly because of economic issues. It was a steep increase on taxes for residents,” Waltonen said. “Changing to the 4/2 shift was real key. It almost makes up the difference.”

He apparently was alluding to a council proposal earlier this year to eliminate the overnight shift — and lay off two officers — and enlist the state police to cover that shift. While the state police would have charged for the service, it would have saved an estimated $160,000 because of the built-in overtime, officials said. But voters at the Financial Town Meeting vetoed seeking that coverage arrangement.

The council’s proposal to change working hours slowed contract talks considerably, said Sgt. Craig Barone, the union president.

“It’s a lifestyle change … not only for the department, but for the officers. We didn’t want to jump into it immediately,” Barone said.

He added, “This is an extremely fair contract. The main focus of the negotiations … was to work with the town and to help the town financially. I’m confident that we did that.”

In return, the town agreed to several sweeteners, including 2- to 3-percent increases in longevity pay; as much as a week’s more vacation time, depending on seniority; a $3 hourly increase, to $38, for working special details; and the right to cash in up to 18 unused sick days a year, rather than the current 10.

lsparks@projo.com