HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 - MOU with Firefighters AssociationAGENDA ITEM io
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Sharon Wood, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Memorandum of Understanding with Firefighters Association
Recommendation
Approve Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Newport Beach and the
Newport Beach Firefighters Association.
Discussion
The previous Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Firefighters Association
expired on December 31, 2001. The City's negotiating team has been meeting with
Association representatives to discuss a new MOU since October 2001. This process was
lengthened by a delay in receiving an actuarial report from PERS on an enhanced
retirement benefit that the Association wished to discuss.
We have reached tentative agreement with the Firefighters Association, consistent with
direction from the City Council, and the Association members have ratified the
agreement. The MOU reflecting that agreement is attached, and its major provisions are
outlined below.
1. The term of the MOU is three years, January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2004.
2. Salary Increases
January 2002 8%
January 2003
3%
July 2003
2%
January 2004
3%
July 2004
2%
As with the police associations, the City's past practice with the firefighters was to
provide total compensation at a level equal to the average of the top five agencies in
Orange County. A survey of fire agencies in the County showed that our firefighters are
8% below the top five, and 1% below the countywide average. Newport Beach ranks 7u
among fire agencies in Orange County. These comparisons are not exact due to the many
differences among compensation systems, but they do indicate that Newport Beach is not
in as strong a competitive position as in the past.
3. Certificate Pay
Employees who complete coursework for Fire Officer I or Fire Prevention Officer II
certification will receive 1.5% of their pay for this achievement. This will expand the
existing Scholastic Achievement Pay program, which applies only to college coursework,
to make fire service job - related coursework eligible for additional compensation.
4. Flex Leave/Longevity Pay
Employees with nine or more years of service will receive the same amount of flex leave,
regardless of hire date. This change partially eliminates the two- tiered flex leave system
that was introduced as part of the City's budget cutbacks in 1996. Increasing leave time
for newer employees was a priority for the Association because their leave accrual rate is
lower than for other agencies in Orange County.
To retain a differentiation for longer -term employees, the longevity pay is increased for
employees with 16 or more years of service.
5. Holidays
Martin Luther King's birthday is added as a holiday, as the City recently did for
miscellaneous employees.
Employees hired after October 1996 will have a one -time opportunity to choose to
receive half their holidays as time off rather than pay. This is another provision designed
to address the lower rate of leave accrual for employees hired after 1996.
6. Health Insurance
The Firefighters Association will participate in the City's cafeteria medical plan, which
will leave only one employee association (Fire Management, with whom we are in
negotiations) in a different plan. The City's contribution to the medical plan will be $500
per month in the first year, $550 in the second year and $575 in the third year, the same
as for the Police associations.
Retirement
The Association withdrew their request for the 3% @ 50 benefit, and will remain at 3%
@ 55. This would have been a costly benefit for the City to provide, and the Association
placed a higher priority on salary and flex leave.
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Meeting Date: May 14, 2002
Agenda Item No.: 10
Subject: MOU WITH FIREFIGHTERS
ASSOCIATION.
The MOU will be distributed on Friday, May 10, 2002.
Thank you!