Yakima City Council to vote on police, fire labor contracts [Yakima Herald-Republic (WA)]
By Mark Morey | |
Proquest LLC |
But the city, as hoped, secured wage freezes for 2012 from both bargaining units. The officers also agreed to contribute more toward health insurance premiums, saving the city about
Cost of living increases, as well as a catch-up boost for police, go into effect for subsequent years for both firefighters and police. Police have a two-year contract, while firefighters have a three-year agreement.
Firefighters will return to minimum staffing that makes it easier to assure sufficient coverage for back-to-back fire calls.
"I think it's a realistic approach to all considerations for the city and the employees. The price of gas hasn't gone down
"We always try to work with our city and our community. We try to do what's best for all of us," said firefighter
Interim city manager
Negotiations had been on hold until Cooper came on board, and could have stalled when he resigned to return to
Morales said the contracts provide certainty for the city as a new police chief comes on board. The new city manager to replace Cooper will also be working without an assistant, who had historically served as the city's chief negotiator.
While the contracts will cost more, Morales said they minimize the city's cost as much as possible under current collective bargaining laws. Either side can call for mediation and then arbitration, which leaves the parties largely at the mercy of the arbitrator.
Current staffing levels, as well as the council's recent decision to hire the 12 officers, also played into the decision-making process.
"You can only do so much by threatening layoffs when they can look at you and see how bare-bones your organization is," Morales said.
The council approved hiring a dozen police officers over a two- year period with money from a utility tax increase, but overtime for firefighters had been substantially reduced in the 2012 budget. That raised the possibility of more days when the department would not be able to respond to simultaneous house fires.
If the council approves the contracts, the unbudgeted money and firefighter overtime funding would be drawn from reserves.
The council already set aside about
In addition, the city's reserve fund is above its council- decided minimum by about 4 percent, for a total of about
While some council members have expressed concern about the impact of wages on the budget, they are also grappling with making sure that the police and fire departments are adequately staffed.
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