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Discussions on pay raise
for police grind to halt
The
city made an informal offer to police last month in an effort to reverse the
trend that has seen a growing number of veteran officers (more than 30 in the
last year) leave for better-paying jobs at other police departments. The
move came a year after the city approved a four-year deal with officers that
provided a 21 percent raise. With the new offer, officers could see a 35
percent pay increase staggered over that same period. Earlier
this week, the City Council held a closed session meeting where City Manager
Jerry Miller explained the current offer of a $2.1 million increase in pay
for officers in the 2007 fiscal budget. The proposal also calls for longevity
bonuses of 10 percent for senior officers and a 4 percent across-the-board
increase for all officers over the next three fiscal years. During
that meeting, City Attorney Robert Shannon recommended the council reopen
negotiations over the recently approved contract. "The
question is if there is a need to meet and confer on this issue," as
required by law in most labor negotiations, "From
our standpoint there is," he said. Long
Beach Police Officers Association President Steve James said Friday there was
no point in holding discussions on an offer his members found unacceptable.
He has made that clear to the council and to city management many times, in
person and in writing, he said. "The
union has told them what it will take to fix the problem," James said.
"Everything they're doing centers around $2.1 million. They may change
it up a little, but it's always $2.1 million. This problem requires a fix of
$4.5 million to $5 million, according to what my members have told me." Mayor
Bob Foster countered there is flexibility in the offer, but added that no
resolution can be found if the union is not willing to sit down and discuss
the terms of a possible amendment to the existing contract. "I
think common courtesy would dictate that the organization would sit down for
an open discussion," Foster said. "We recognize there is a problem;
the city is in good faith trying to rectify the problem." Accusations
that the city does not seem to care about losing some of its best officers
are not accurate or fair, the mayor said. In
a letter sent to James on Wednesday, Miller urged James to reconsider his
position on the negotiations. Miller
said Friday he was aware there are concerns within the union about renegotiating
its existing contract. He insisted that opening the contract would not lead
to other benefits being eliminated or reduced to cover the cost of the
proposed pay increase. "That's
not our intention," Miller said. "And I don't think we have had a
track record under my administration of conducting negotiations in that
way." In
his letter to James, the city manager credited the police force with helping
city leaders address a massive structural deficit in the general fund and
said the city does not want to see the best veteran officers, or new
recruits, leave However,
Miller warned that solving the current problem must be done within the city's
financial means. It was a point echoed by Foster on Friday. James
said he would be happy to discuss new information or a new offer. If the
majority of his members were to change their minds on the current offer, he
would also be willing to negotiate, he said. He
does not oppose reopening talks over the existing contract, he added, as long
as any change is acceptable to the members of the union. With
no discussions scheduled, the issue appears to be at a standstill, both sides
agreed. "I
think that the POA has a responsibility to sit down and to discuss this
issue," Foster said. "The only way anything moves is to have those
discussions." Santa Barbara Police Vote
Against City's 24% Pay Hike Offer Police
union demands City raise pay 26% to counter draw of other markets From
KSBY, September 28, 2006 Negotiators
with the police union are demanding a 26% pay raise. But the City
says the 24% raise is their last and best offer. Police
officers in The
department has had trouble filling more than a dozen vacancies. Officers say
morale is low and the streets aren't safe. Recognizing
this, the City offered a three-year contract with a 24% raise. Mayor Marty
Blum says the cops should take the dealt that's on the table. "I
have never seen a pay raise like that," says
Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum. "This is my 11th year on the Council and
I have not seen a raise like that offered to any group. It is way above
anything." In
a vote tonight, the police officers say the offer isn't good enough. Their
union is considering a ballot measure asking Mayor
Blum says that even without a formal contract, the City may unilaterally
implement a 7% pay raise for police officers. L.I. exec wants police to
give up generous retiree benefits From
the AP, October 3, 2006
"Our
police officers do a fantastic job every day," he said. "But our
taxpayers can no longer afford these overly generous benefits." Police; union disagree
about recent physical appearance proposals From
The The
first policy set forth for negotiation originally called for policeman to
cover all tattoos while in uniform, but was recently abridged to prohibit
officers from displaying tattoos above the neck. The second policy would
require police to undergo fitness testing, with failing officers potentially
facing punitive action, officials said. Both
policies are intended to make the city police force more uniform, Police
Chief Brent Larrabee said. "In
general, the men and women here take care of themselves well," Larrabee said. "This
was just a management tool to bring it to another level." The
initial tattoo policy was upsetting to union members because many are
decorated with flags and religious symbols, Union President Michael Merenda said "For us it's almost a cultural
thing," he said of tattooing. The
newer tattoo policy was agreeable to the union Merenda
said, adding that no current members have tattoos above the neck. The
fitness policy is problematic for officers because the city recently
discussed an incentive program for all city employees who maintained good
fitness, Union Vice President Guy Potolicchio said. "They
went from zero to 100 miles an hour," Potolicchio
said. "The most troublesome thing is that we were talking about a
positive health incentive, and then three months later we're talking about a
policy that could cause problems and be punitive. It doesn't make
sense." Sgt.
Gary Perna, who handles fitness testing for new
recruits, said he proposed fitness testing for existing officers years ago,
because it would cut down on sick time and increase productivity. He said
that plan, which was not carried out, would have offered rewards. Human
Resources Director Dennis Murphy, who has been involved in union contract
negotiations since 2005 and is overseeing the
current binding arbitration, said the union has not presented a health
incentive alternative. Merenda said while he supports fitness testing, he
doesn't feel that disciplinary measures are appropriate at this time. He
stressed that the plan has height and weight requirements, which are too
strict to include even some of the force's most fit employees. According to
the fitness chart Merenda provided, the appropriate
weight range for a 6 foot tall male would be 148 to 188 pounds. The
chart, several officers noted, does not take into account variables, such as
whether or not extra weight is "good weight" comprised of muscle. Murphy
said the requirements should encourage officers to stay within a healthy body
weight range. "A
lot of towns have formally adopted a height/weight standard and we are
certainly open to anything that would help with the heath of our
officers," Murphy said. Murphy
said specific penalties for officers violating the fitness standards have not
been discussed, but the policy is intended to encourage and educate
employees, rather than discipline them. "We
don't intend it to be punitive, we just intend it to improve our officer's
health," Murphy said, adding that a fit police unit is also a benefit to
the city's taxpayers. Both
Larrabee and Murphy stressed that the objective of
the plan is not to "weed out" or fire police officers. "It
costs thousands of dollars to recruit and hire police officers," Larrabee said. "The last thing you want to do is get
rid of them." Merenda called the timing of both the tattoo and fitness
proposals "curious," because, to his knowledge, there have been no
complaints about appearance or endurance. He said Merenda said he feels the standards are being used as a
bargaining tool in negotiations, because the department knows the terms are
upsetting union members. "We
made this one of the safest cities in the country, so we must be doing
something right," Merenda said, referring to a
recent survey which rated Merenda did not specify what the union was interested in
regarding a contract, but did say officers are grossly underpaid. He said the
union would decide what acceptable pay and benefits are based on the complete
package offered by the city. He
said the department and union have had a "difficult time agreeing"
on a variety of issues, and that the next arbitration session is schedule for
Oct.4. Potolicchio said it is unfortunate that matters such
as police fitness are going to be handled at the bargaining table. "[The
chief has] a new philosophy and understandably so, but it would've been much
better served if it was negotiated with us," Potolicchio
said. "Now it's in the hands of an arbiter and it could be harmful to
the department or to the city." Larrabee said he was open to ideas the union may
put forth, and that he hoped to clear up misconceptions and create more
understanding about the proposals. "It's
just a matter of discussing concepts," Larrabee
said "Nothing is set in cement." From
the Associated Press, September 29, 2006 The police union turned down the proposed
contract on a vote of 48-2 this week. The issue now will go to
arbitration. The proposal would have increased Officers would have received a 2.5 percent
increase immediately and another 2.5 percent next April. The final 2.5
percent would have been paid in October 2007. The plan also would have banned further
negotiations until May of 2008. Union president Travis Holley says the city can
afford to pay officers at competitive levels. By
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