City Council to Consider and Vote on Public Safety Employee Contracts

From the City of Alameda

The Alameda City Council will consider and vote on labor contracts for 2013 – 2017 for the four sworn public safety employee groups at its December 11, 2012 meeting, at 7:00 P.M. in City Hall. The contracts are available on the City’s website: http://www.cityofalamedaca.gov/City-Hall/Public-Safety-Contracts-

All of the sworn public Safety employee groups have voted to accept new four-year contracts with the City of Alameda in which the employees agree to pay more toward their pensions, pay more toward their health care costs, and to receive pay increases which are based on a revenue sharing formula that is capped, or are survey based. Employees will have not had a wage increase for six and one-half years.

The groups represent sworn Fire management personnel (AFMA) and regular sworn Fire employees (IAFF), and sworn Police management personnel (APMA) and regular sworn Police employees (APOA).

The contracts cover the period from June 30, 2013 through June 24, 2017. They include the following key terms:

1. Creates four-year contracts, which provide certainty for both the City’s budgeting and planning process, and for the employees.

2. Increases employee contributions to their retirement plans by 67%, which is above and beyond State mandate.

3. Significantly increases employee contribution to health costs.

4. Delays any wage increases until 2014.

5. Links increase in wages to the performance of the City’s General Fund.

6. Increases in uniform allowances.

7. Establishes new 50-50 shared vision plan in 2016.

8. Establishes new Catastrophic Leave Bank, similar to that available to non-public safety employees.

9. Establishes Career/Educational Development Incentive Program.

10. Uses the final retirement benefit calculation based on a consecutive three-year highest average, instead of the current basis of only the one highest year’s salary. In addition to new employees, current employees also accept this.

11. Changes the retirement formula from 3% at 50 years old to 2.7% at 57 years old, for new employees.

12. Fully and finally settles a costly grievance dispute from existing and previous contracts with IAFF.

Also available on the City’s website is the legal opinion from the City Attorney’s office regarding the risk analysis for the grievance dispute between the City and IAFF over the current and prior contracts, and the City’s calculation for the liability exposure. The City Council, at its December 04, 2012 closed session meeting, voted to waive the attorney-client privilege and release the memo to provide additional clarification to the public.