The city reached a deal with its largest union to save about
$158,000 in wage costs next year, just days before the fiscal year
started July 1.
The city reached a deal with its largest union to save about $158,000 in wage costs next year, just days before the fiscal year started July 1.
The agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees local union, which represents about 86 city employees, eliminates raises scheduled for next year in the union’s previous contract with the city.
In return, the city allowed four employees who were laid off starting July 1 to cash out their accrued sick pay when their employment with the city ends. As of the beginning of June, the total sick leave for the laid-off employees was about $15,000 – which the city will pay out to them in cash as a result of the agreement, according to assistant to the city manager Brian Stott.
The city does not normally allow employees to cash out their sick leave when they leave the organization, no matter for what reason they leave, Stott said. Some Morgan Hill employees have an option to convert built-up sick leave to work credit when they retire.
Also as part of the agreement, the city will promise to make a “good faith effort” to use the roughly $158,000 in salary savings to ensure that no AFSCME-represented employees are laid off next year.
The city has spent the last several months negotiating for salary savings with its three unions, all of which have contracts with the city that include both annual across-the-board wage increases and seniority-based raises. Last month, the city approved agreements with two unions representing police officers and public safety support staff, which eliminate the scheduled raises for the 50 employees over the next three years – saving the city about $2 million.
Those agreements prevented layoffs of two police officers for three years, as well as the city’s animal control officer for one year – all of which were proposed to be on the chopping block for this year’s budget which cuts about $2 million in expenses.
A total of about 13 full-time positions were cut in the budget. Four of those – recreation coordinator, a part-time groundskeeper, an office assistant II, and a management analyst – were occupied by AFSCME-represented employees who will be able to cash out their sick leave.
