The Teamsters Local 320 union and city management have reached a tentative agreement for saving an Albert Lea police officer position, City Manager Victoria Simonsen confirmed Wednesday.

The two entities met in negotiations Tuesday.

The agreement will be presented for a vote at the next Albert Lea City Council meeting Feb. 8, Simonsen said.

Albert Lea police officer Ryan Merkouris, a Teamsters representative, did not expand on the agreement and said he was unsure how the vote would go before the City Council.

“It could go either way,” he said.

Before negotiations Tuesday, the union had come up with a concessions offer, which involved an about 2.4 percent pay cut for the union members in order to come up with about half of the amount needed to preserve the position.

The union’s hope was that the city would meet halfway to come up with the other half.

The officer position has been in limbo for several months after the City Council had to cut more than $1 million from its 2010 budget and the Police Department could not find grant funding to save the position.

The council’s decision will affect the department’s most junior officer, Steve Charboneau, who received his layoff notice Jan. 7 after the union and the city were previously unable to reach an agreement about saving the position.

Tentative union agreements with government entities are public documents, but Simonsen declined to discuss the details with the Albert Lea Tribune.