Members of the city’s three unions have agreed to reduced raises
over the next couple of years instead of layoffs.
Members of the city’s three unions have agreed to reduced raises over the next couple of years instead of layoffs.
Each union gave up its fair share, 3.5 percent to 4 percent of its previously negotiated raises over the next two to five years. Those reductions equal the $500,000 mark set by the Morgan Hill City Council during its budget reduction strategy meeting Jan. 14.
Faced with an annual budget deficit of $2.2 million from declining sales and property tax revenues and reduced development-related fees, the Morgan Hill City Council made cuts totaling almost $2 million Jan. 14. Those cuts included the $500,000 in reduced labor costs.
Each union ratified Memorandums of Understanding, or agreements to renegotiate contracts, over the past few weeks, which were approved by the council via the consent calendar Wednesday night. The vote was 4-0 for all consent items, with Mayor Steve Tate absent.
The three unions will still get raises, staggered over periods ranging from one year to five years, but the amounts and frequencies of these pay increases have been tweaked to save the council-mandated half a million dollars.
The Police Officers Association, which represents the city’s 36 officers, agreed to forego a 3 percent raise that would have gone into effect April 1, and a second 0.5 percent raise effective April 1, 2010.
A 3 percent raise of the the average police officer’s salary of $134,058 is $4,022 per year.
However, all is not lost for the association: the contract was renegotiated from 9.5 percent in salary increases over the next 15 months to 15 percent in salary increases over more than five years.
The related Community Service Officers Association, which represents the police department’s support staff including dispatchers, also gave up an April 1 raise of 1 percent, and a 2 percent raise that would have taken affect Aug. 23. They also gave up 1 percent in August 2010.
A 1 percent raise for public safety dispatcher earning $66,253 equals $663 per year.
AFSCME, the city’s largest union representing almost 100 employees, deferred a 2 percent raise on Aug. 23, a 1.5 percent raise on Aug. 22, 2010, and another 0.5 percent in 2011.
A 2 percent raise for an assistant planner making $64,620 a year would be $1,292 per year.
Members of all three unions will get a 2 percent raise on Sept. 1, 2009.
Councilman Larry Carr said the preliminary agreements were “a testament of the leadership of those unions.”
“We put out as a council a fairly significant challenge in asking employees to do that,” Carr said. It’s a true testament of how important this city is to our employees. There are a lot of communities in which (community groups) are staking out their territory, saying not in our group. But not our employees – in this community everyone rolled up their sleeves and have given up a lot of stuff.”
The Morgan Hill City Council put off any decision to reduce the police force by three positions until May, when next fiscal year’s budget deliberations begin. Those three positions are currently vacant, and Police Chief Bruce Cumming has no plans to fill them until and unless a decision is made by the council to fund them.
Meanwhile, as part of the original budget reduction strategy, nonunion city managers, will forgo their anticipated 3 percent raise for the next fiscal year, for a savings of almost $140,000.
