Members of the Toronto Police Association are being asked to ratify a new contract that includes an 8.35 per cent salary increase over four years, the Star has learned.

The proposed wage hike will increase salaries by 2.75 per cent this year, followed by 1.95 next year and 1.9 and 1.75 per cent in the final two years of the new deal.

The tentative deal — reached last week between the union and the Toronto Police Services Board — also eliminates a longstanding perk for new recruits that has allowed police employees to bank up to 18 sick days a year.

The service pays out about $12 million annually in unused sick leave to employees who quit or retire.

“That has been in dispute for a long time, and will result in big savings in the long run,” said a police source.

The deal, if ratified, will also increase the amount of time it takes to reach the status of first-class constable, whose base pay is $90,000.

Members will vote on the tentative contract using mail-in balloting over the next few weeks.

TPA president Mike McCormack and board members unveiled details of the deal to members at a meeting Thursday night in an east-end hotel.

Leaving the venue, he declined to comment except to repeat his earlier comment — last week — that the deal is fair to employees and the city.

In 2011, the service’s officers were awarded an 11.4 per cent raise over four years. The last contract expired Dec. 31.

This year’s city budget didn’t include the impact of the salary settlement, though city staff said an estimated provision was built into it.