Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "sacramento area firefighters local 522"

Guide to firefighters' pay and benefits

2011-06-12T23:37:33Z

The Sacramento City Council’s tentative decision last week to make major cuts to public safety brings police and firefighter jobs into the spotlight.

Six City Council members said they intend to raise the number of brownouts or alternating closures of fire services from two to four.

While the city has no plans to lay off firefighters, the public debate over possible cuts to public safety begs the question: How much do firefighters in the city get paid? How do their benefits work?

The brownouts may be part of the final budget the City Council is expected to approve on June 21. The city is facing a $39 million deficit.

The Sacramento Press published a guide to police officers’ pay and benefits on June 5, and is now looking at firefighters’ salary and benefits.

Firefighter pay

There are several kinds of unionized jobs in the Sacramento Fire Department, according to data on the city’s website. These job titles are firefighter, firefighter/paramedic, engineer, engineer/paramedic, captain, captain/paramedic and battalion chief.

About 500 employees hold these positions, Michael Stover, administrative officer for the department, said.

“It must be noted that the current pay rates for members of Local 522 (the Firefighters’ union) are frozen until January 2012,” Stover noted.

The salary for the firefighter job ranges from $53,534 to $65,071, according to salary data published on the city’s website. A firefighter/paramedic can earn from $58,888 to $71,579 annually, in base pay.

Engineers earn anywhere from $63,613 to $77,322. Salaries for engineer/paramedics start at $66,157 and go up to $80,415. Engineers, who conduct “specialized firefighting work,” drive the fire engines/trucks and operate the pump machinery on fire engines, must have worked as a Sacramento firefighter for four years, according to the city’s website.

Pay for captains ranges from $71,917 to $87,416. Captains are supervisors who must have worked as a firefighter for five years. A salary range of $74,794 to $90,913 is for captain/paramedics.

Battalion chiefs – supervisors who outrank captains – are paid anywhere from $92,745 to $112,732.

The department has eight sworn top managers – a fire chief, two deputy chiefs and five assistant chiefs, according to Stover. For example, a fire deputy chief earns between $112,629 to $168,943. Assistant chiefs are top managers who outrank battalion chiefs.

Read the salary data for all of these jobs here.

Retirement and other benefits for firefighters

Like police officers and managers, firefighters do not pay toward their retirement benefits. A recent audit of employee benefits by City Auditor Jorge Oseguera’s office said the city covers all CalPERS retirement system contributions for firefighters, police officers and managers.

Meanwhile, city employees in other fields pay retirement contributions.

The audit stated that the city could save roughly $7.9 million on average annually if all of its workers, including firefighters, paid 4 percent of their earnings toward their retirements. Unionized fire employees also receive a health and welfare benefit from the city, basic life insurance, 12 days of vacation per year with the ability to accrue two more floating days each year, 24 hours of holiday time and 12 sick days, according to Kimberly Isaacs, city human resources manager for benefits and retirement.

Additional information about firefighters’ benefits is outlined in the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 contract with the city, which can be read here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council intends to make major public safety cuts

2011-06-08T07:44:49Z

The Sacramento City Council’s tentative decision Tuesday night to make severe budget cuts to public safety is not final, but it made a big statement.

Council members voted 6-3 to say they intend to make budget cuts later this month that include layoffs of 82 sworn cops and increases in brownouts or alternating closures for fire services.

A big caveat to the tentative decision is the council’s statement that it is still open to further negotiations with the city’s public safety unions.

Tuesday’s hearing drew intense public interest. Many people arrived more than an hour early to the 6 p.m. meeting. Shortly before 5 p.m., about 70 people waited in line for the doors at City Hall to open.

About 340 people were at City Hall around 6:15 p.m. The 230 seats inside the City Council’s chambers were filled, and another 110 people were outside, in the lobby and in a second-floor overflow area.

A City Hall police security officer estimated at 7 p.m. there were 400-450 people at City Hall.

City leaders are facing a $39 million deficit for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The City Council is expected to approve a budget June 21.

Council members Jay Schenirer, Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted to say they intend to make public safety cuts, among other reductions, though they may still negotiate with unions for changes to the cuts.

Council members Angelique Ashby and Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson voted against the tentative decision.

Schenirer proposed the tentative decision, stating that cuts to public safety were necessary in order for the city to get on a fiscally responsible track.

“The right thing happens to be the more difficult thing this year, unfortunately,” he said.

The proposal includes $12.2 million in cuts to the Police Department and $9 million in cuts to the Fire Department.

The suggested cuts include layoffs of 82 sworn cops in the Police Department and 68 civilian personnel, according to updated statistics provided Tuesday night by Sgt. Norm Leong, police department spokesman.

The department could restore 35 staff if it obtains a waiver on a federal grant, according to city officials.

“I just can’t, in good conscience, support a budget where we’re going to cut $12 million from police,” Johnson said.

In addition to its tentative decision, the council made a final decision Tuesday night to approve a federal grant for the Sacramento Fire Department. The funding from the federal government comes from the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program.

The six council members also said they intend to make fire cuts that would raise the number of alternating closures, or “brownouts,” of fire services from two to four. Without the grant, the city would be weighing whether to make six brownouts.

The city manager’s office is not proposing layoffs for the Fire Department.

As part of the 6-3 vote, the council also said it intends to keep 11 community centers open without setting aside any money for them through the Department of Parks and Recreation. It’s unclear how that can be accomplished. Schenirer suggested that neighborhoods could help keep the centers open.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Intense city budget talks begin

2011-05-04T06:09:21Z

Sacramento City Council members began discussions Tuesday on the city manager’s recommendation to cut as many as 366 jobs in the budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

One city union protested the proposed layoffs at City Hall before the City Council meeting, and representatives from two other unions expressed their opposition to the cuts during the meeting.

City officials presented the budget recommendations from the city manager’s office at Tuesday’s meeting and summarized the budget document.

As part of the meeting, Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka explained a chart on the job cuts recommended by the city manager’s office.

The city would need to slice 250 full-time positions to gain the $39 million in savings. But Masuoka and Interim City Manager Bill Edgar are making recommendations for cuts on top of the $39 million in light of the city’s ongoing financial woes.

City officials project that the city will continue to face budget gaps until fiscal year 2015/2016.

The gap for fiscal year 2012/2013 is $11.7 million and is expected to rise to $22.9 million in fiscal year 2013/2014. In fiscal year 2014/2015, the city expects to be $18 million in the hole. The gap drops to a $13 million deficit predicted in fiscal year 2015/2016.

If the City Council decides to cut all the positions that Masuoka and Edgar have suggested, 366 positions would be lost, according to page 28 of the chart Masuoka referenced.

It’s unclear at this point how many actual layoffs would result if the City Council decided to cut the 366 jobs. The numbers may change during the budget process. Plus, the city uses a process of demoting some employees while laying off others that can change the numbers.

Regardless, the City Council could decide to make hundreds of layoffs in the next few weeks.

“This budget is very painful,” Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby indicated she would make efforts to avoid layoffs to police and fire employees. As many as 80 sworn officers could be laid off in the proposed budget, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

Ashby said the citizens she represents are concerned about police and fire staffing and levee improvements.

“I’ve got to find ways to make those my top priority,” she said.

Councilman Kevin McCarty asked city staff to prepare an alternate budget that would show the city’s financial situation if the City Council made no public safety cuts.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said he was concerned about the layoffs.

Marcia Mooney, business representative for Local 39, said there could be about 150 layoffs of members of her union, who work in city services including parks maintenance, utilities and solid waste, she said. Local 39 is pressing the City Council to not put the brunt of layoffs on rank-and-file workers.

Representatives of the Sacramento Police Officers Association and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 addressed the City Council during the meeting.

“You’re making life-and-death decisions,” said Detective Mark Tyndale, vice president of the police union.

The police department, he said, has already been “cut to the bone.”

Jaymes Butler of the firefighters’ union said Fire Department cuts could hurt communities. The proposed budget would ramp up the number of Fire Department “brownouts” from two to six.

The city fire department has two rolling brownouts in effect, which means that certain fire trucks and engines are out of service at various times, according to former Fire Department spokesman Jim Doucette.

The next public budget meeting will be held Thursday, May 12. The Sacramento Press will publish the time and place of the meeting as soon as it can obtain that information.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City eyes 350 city jobs for cuts

2011-04-30T01:57:07Z

More than 350 jobs, including those of 80 sworn police officers, could be cut to balance the city’s budget, Interim City Manager Bill Edgar said Friday.

The city manager’s office released recommendations Friday on how to resolve a $39 million budget gap. The proposal released by the city is not set in stone: The City Council is responsible for making final budget decisions.

“This is the budget that everyone has dreaded,” Edgar said. “(This is) the budget where the chickens come home to roost.”

The city manager’s office proposes cutting 294 positions. In addition, Edgar said he is recommending that the City Council cut about 60 more positions to privatize maintenance of city golf courses.

In the coming weeks, representatives for the city’s unions are expected to negotiate with city officials over the planned budget cuts.

The proposed budget recommends that the City Council lay off 80 of the city’s 701 sworn police officers. The city manager’s proposal also suggests laying off about 70 civilian workers in the Police Department and cutting 18 vacant positions for sworn police officers.

Detective Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said the union’s members are upset, scared and “very angry” about the proposed cuts to the department.

The union made concessions on raises in 2009 that resulted in $13 million in savings for the city, he said.

“We have stepped up, and we have given,” he said.

SPOA’s view is that the city unfairly gave raises to a few top city officials recently.

Tyndale also argues the city mismanaged money by paying raises to members of another city union, Local 39, after negotiations fell apart between Local 39 and the city in 2009.

(However, it should be noted that Local 39 members suffered layoffs as a result of the failed negotiations with the city in 2009. Local 39 Director of Public Employees Joan Bryant, who represents city workers that are not in the public safety field, recently argued that the city unfairly favors public safety workers on retirement benefits.)

Despite Tyndale’s anger over the proposed budget, he said SPOA will continue to “have a dialogue with city management” on the budget.

“We expect to be treated fairly by them,” Tyndale said.

The proposed cuts will reduce police services, said department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

“It will have impacts to crime and to the service level we’re providing,” he said.

In one of many examples, Leong said the department would not be able to respond in person to property crimes like theft and home burglaries if there are no suspects on the scene. “We’re not coming out,” he said.

However, if there are suspects present, the department would respond, he said.

Sacramento City Councilman Darrell Fong, who retired from the Police Department in 2009 after a 30-year career there, said no officers were laid off during his tenure with the department.

“I’m really concerned about the cuts to public safety,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Fire Department also faces major cuts in the proposed budget. There are “whole communities that aren’t going to have EMS or fire response,” said Jaymes Butler of Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522. “They’ll have to pull from another community.”

The numbers of layoffs and the cuts to services for the fire department are still unclear because the city has been selected to receive a $5.6 million grant earmarked for fire services.

However, Butler estimated that the cuts would result in the following actual layoffs: 14 captains, nine engineers, 35 firefighters and seven firefighter/paramedics.

Positions are different from actual layoffs, because the city sometimes saves money by cutting vacant positions.

However, Edgar said he doesn’t expect the number of positions – more than 350 – to differ much from actual layoffs.

“I think it’s fair to say that most of (the positions) are filled at this point,” he said.

The city budget document released Friday projects that the city will continue to face budget gaps until fiscal year 2015/2016. The gap for fiscal year 2012/2013 is $11.7 million and is expected to rise to $22.9 million in fiscal year 2013/2014. In fiscal year 2014/2015, the city expects to be $18 million in the hole. The gap drops to a $13 million deficit predicted in fiscal year 2015/2016.

Read the full text of the proposed budget here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Police union revives strong mayor debate

2011-01-04T02:40:55Z

The local police union is reviving an effort to create a “strong mayor” form of government in the city, according to Det. Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association.

Tyndale said in an interview on Monday that SPOA is “actively talking” to other groups on how to move an effort forward. SPOA is in discussions with the Sacramento Metro Chamber, Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 and the Sacramento 60, a group of powerful business leaders, Tyndale said.

Sacramento 60 and the Sacramento Metro Chamber backed last summer’s strong mayor proposal.

The City Council and interest groups for and against a strong mayor government fought bitterly over previous campaigns for a strong mayor system last year and in 2009. The city currently uses a city manager/city council form of government. A strong mayor system would move many of the city manager’s responsibilities to the mayor.

SPOA backs the July 2010 strong mayor plan, which is the most recent in a series of proposals.

Tyndale said he hopes the City Council will agree to place the strong mayor issue on the November 2011 ballot, if special elections for other issues are also taking place then. He explained that it is more cost-effective for the city to put it on the ballot with other election issues.

“What we want is real accountability,” Tyndale said, adding that a strong mayor system would make one person – the mayor – more responsible for his or her actions.

He also emphasized that the proposed government system would affect future mayors.

“This is way beyond Kevin Johnson,” he said.

If a new system is put into effect, it would probably affect Johnson in 2012, the final year of his current term, Tyndale said.

Tyndale pointed out that the strong mayor system proposed in July 2010 would have included a City Council president. If a strong mayor government were put into effect, Tyndale said he would want the City Council president to be new City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby.

Tyndale said the police union will try to persuade the City Council to put the July 2010 proposal on the November 2011 ballot. The July draft of the strong mayor proposal was written by third-party attorneys after the City Council blocked City Attorney Eileen Teichert from writing a draft in June 2010.

SPOA and other supporters will aim to advance the proposal through the City Council, Tyndale said, rather than through an initiative without the council’s support. However, he said SPOA and other strong mayor supporters would discuss the option of advancing the initiative without the City Council if that is the only option and if it can be accomplished legally.

Johnson and his supporters failed with the initiative approach last year. Bill Camp, executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, sued over the issue in December 2009 and stopped the proposal from advancing. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster decided in January 2010 that the initiative did not follow state law.

Johnson, who had led the strong mayor campaign in 2009 and 2010, abandoned it in July.

“There’s not enough appetite for council to put this on the ballot,” Johnson told reporters in July 2010. “I got that. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to quit fighting for reform.”

This time around, Johnson said he will not take a leading role in a campaign. “What I realize is, I don’t want this to be a distraction for all 2011,” he said at his weekly press conference on Dec. 28.

Meanwhile, Camp said Monday that voters need to decide if they want a council in which the mayor does not have a seat, he said. “People need to think it through,” he said.

Camp said that a new discussion of a strong mayor system needs to account for the need to change the number of City Council seats. The city would have to carve out nine new council districts under the strong mayor proposal. But the city already has to go through a redistricting process for its eight council districts this year, he said. This means there would be a second redistricting process if the strong mayor proposal goes into effect.

A second redistricting process would cost money, he said.

Tyndale acknowledged that the redistricting issue “does complicate things a little bit.”

However, Tyndale said that perhaps there could be a system set up for a couple years that consists of a strong mayor and eight council seats, instead of nine.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy was unavailable for comment on SPOA’s plans Monday afternoon.

Read a timeline of strong mayor events in 2009 and 2010.

Read the July 2010 proposal of the strong mayor plan here.

Photo of Det. Mark Tyndale by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Hall at War: Tretheway, Johnson’s office accuse each other of lying

2010-05-20T00:24:46Z

The accusations are flying at City Hall.

Councilman Ray Tretheway is accusing Mayor Kevin Johnson of quid pro quo in his endorsement process, while Johnson’s Special Assistant R.E. Graswich said that Tretheway’s allegations are lies.

Tretheway held a press conference Wednesday to announce that some of Johnson’s most influential supporters told him that if he voted to place a strong mayor proposal on the November ballot, then Johnson would endorse him.

Johnson has endorsed Tretheway’s opponent Angelique Ashby.

“Threats and quid pro quo offers may be commonplace these days,” Tretheway said, “but I want no part of it.”

Tretheway named names at the press conference. He said the following people representing Johnson pressured him to vote for a strong mayor proposal: developer Mark Friedman, developer Mike Heller, steel businessman Steve Ayers, developer Steve Goodwin, developer Jon Bagatelos and attorney Jeffrey Dorso.

Tretheway said that he was pressured when he recently met with some of the city’s key business leaders. “I was specifically told that if I put the strong mayor initiative on the ballot in November, the mayor would be ready to give me his endorsement and make certain I am reelected,” Tretheway said. “I don’t trade votes regardless of political consequences,” he said.

Asked by a reporter if the business leaders said they were acting on behalf of the mayor, Tretheway responded: “Yes, sir.”

Tretheway said he was not planning on making complaints about the matter, noting that Johnson was not directly involved. "I don't think there's anything illegal for somebody to speak on (Johnson's) behalf," Tretheway said.

After the press conference, Graswich said that Tretheway was lying. Graswich referred to a group of key Sacramento business leaders as “the group of 60.”

“He’s lying if he thinks the Sacramento 60 are somehow being directed by the mayor,” Graswich said. “It’s absolutely not true.”

Graswich said that Tretheway has lost the endorsement of the city’s public safety unions and the business community. Faced with the possibility of “losing his political career,” Tretheway is making up a story.

Graswich also pointed out that if Ashby wins office, she won’t begin until November. That would mean that she couldn’t vote to put a strong mayor decision on the ballot.

“If you think about it, why in the world would the mayor endorse Angelique, who, when, if ... she wins, won’t be taking office until the end of November?" Graswich said. "Why would he do that, unless his motives were to simply move the city forward?”

The fight isn’t limited to Tretheway and the mayor’s office: local politicians and powerful groups are taking sides. Council members Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty, the Sacramento County Democratic Party and Bill Camp, the executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, are supporting Tretheway’s claims and stood behind him at the press conference.

Sheedy said before the press conference that she believed Tretheway’s claims.

“Ray Tretheway is one of the most honorable men I know,” Sheedy said. “If he says it happened, it happened.”

Representatives from the Sacramento Police Officers Association and the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 — two public safety unions that support Ashby — turned out for the press conference. SPOA Vice President Mark Tyndale rebutted Tretheway’s claims in comments to reporters.

In a phone interview Wednesday, developer Mark Friedman said Tretheway’s claims were false.

Friedman said he met with Tretheway and four others Tuesday morning. At the meeting, Friedman said he and the others discussed the strong mayor proposal and its merits, and talked about why they thought it should be placed on the ballot in November.

“We didn’t offer any promises and we didn’t make any threats,” Friedman said.

Friedman said the discussion did not include any mention of Tretheway’s City Council race or an endorsement by the mayor.

“It smells to me like some last-ditch act of political desperation,” Friedman said.

Jon Bagatelos also said Tretheway’s comments were lies. If Tretheway claims there was quid pro quo or that the group of business leaders said they would give him the mayor's endorsement that's a "total unequivocal lie,” Bagatelos said.

Bagatelos said that if Tretheway is referring to the meeting at which Bagatelos attended yesterday, then Tretheway is making defamatory comments.

Steve Ayers and Steve Goodwin also said they did not tell Tretheway that backing the strong mayor proposal could lead to an endorsement from Johnson.

Both Ayers and Goodwin described themselves as supporters of Tretheway. "I'm amazed and shocked," Ayers said.

Goodwin spoke positively about Tretheway, saying he was the best candidate for the District 1 City Council seat. "I have not heard what Ray said," Goodwin said. "But as far as any tit-for-tat — I wouldn't do that to Ray. I would hope he would know that."

Attempts made to contact Mike Heller and Jeffrey Dorso were unsuccessful.

Managing Editor Colleen Belcher contributed to this report.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Press Release: Police union challenges Roth's statements

2010-04-13T20:58:07Z

Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, sent the following statement to media outlets Tuesday:

My concerns regarding the ethics of Dan Roth from Councilmember Tretheway’s Office continue grow as it seems he is weaving a series of dishonest explanations to justify his behavior on the morning of Friday, April 9th. On the YouTube video, he is with Tretheway’s campaign manager from Capitol Campaigns, Corin Choppin, as he pulls Angelique Ashby’s political signs out of the ground and throws them behind the bushes. Apparently, Corin is not only Tretheway’s campaign manager, but is also married to Tretheway’s Chief of Staff, Randi Kay Stevens.

It seems that Roth does not dispute that he was there as a paid city employee; however, he initially claimed to channel 3 that he was responding to a constituent’s complaint regarding the placement of the political signs that had been received through the city’s 3-1-1 service. Unexplained is why Choppin is taking action of removing the signs in response to a complaint Roth said he received in the course of his official duties.

Roth has now revised his version, stating that the complaint came in to his office in the form of an email from Ron Dwyer-Voss (Who is listed as a Tretheway supporter on the attached document and former client of Capitol Campaigns.) Roth gave me a copy of the email that he said he received and has now claimed that it was blind copied to him by Dwyer-Voss. (Attached).

The first thing I noticed was that the email was only addressed to Angelique Ashby which would have been the correct email format for her copy of the email if it had other blind copy destinations; but the copy Dan Roth received would have had the recipient address he received it on. Blind copy recipients do list that information on the blind copy recipients version. The copy he provided was the version sent only to Angelique.

The format also seems improper for an email, as if it were a copy of the sent version from Dwyer-Voss, not a copy received by a City terminal. I have to wonder if we are now seeing a conspiracy between Roth and Dwyer-Voss to cover for Roth’s earlier dishonesty.

In a statement to the Sacramento Press, Roth also seems to be saying that he intended to forward the complaint to 3-1-1, which makes no sense at all. I cannot think of circumstances that would warrant that, but since he mentioned the 3-1-1 system in his earlier version of his explanation, it seems as if he feels he needs to tie it into this version as well.

The California Public Records Act request being made by 522 also includes office emails. I have a very strong suspicion that there will not be a record of a blind copy email to Roth from Dwyer-Voss on that morning.

As I stated earlier, I am disappointed with the actions of Roth and Choppin for removing the signs, but I think an apology to Angelique and the Natomas residents would have properly addressed my concerns. My concerns with a potential cover up from the District 1 City Council Office and the lying that would accompany it have grown with the emergence of each new inconsistent explanation that is offered. If my suspicions are proven, I think the proper response from Councilmember Tretheway has to be to fire Dan Roth, or ask for his resignation. The credibility of his Office will suffer significant damage if he does not deal with the situation properly.

Please feel free to use or quote any portion of this email.

Mark Tyndale
Vice President, Board of Directors
Sacramento Police Officers Association

Police union: If Roth's claims are untrue, he should be fired

2010-04-13T00:38:10Z

A top officer in the Sacramento police officer’s union is saying that City Councilman Ray Tretheway’s district director should be fired if he made dishonest statements about removal of campaign signs. Lawn signs that supported Tretheway's City Council opponent were removed Friday.

“It’s my belief that if Dan Roth has not been honest and he has been lying, I don’t see what alternative there is, for either him to resign or Ray Tretheway to fire him,” Sacramento Police Officers’ Association Vice President Mark Tyndale said Monday at a press conference held by the association and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522.

The Sacramento Bee reported a story Saturday about a YouTube video that shows Roth looking on as Tretheway campaign manager Corrin Choppin removed signs for City Council candidate Angelique Ashby at El Centro and Arena boulevards in Natomas.

The signs stated that SPOA and Local 522 supported Ashby, according to union officials.

Tretheway is running for re-election against Ashby.

Specifically, Tyndale said he is objecting to comments in a KCRA 3 news story. “KCRA ran a quote from Dan Roth indicating that a complaint was made to the city’s 311 phone line that morning and that Dan Roth was acting on that complaint,” according to a media statement from SPOA and Local 522.

Tyndale questioned whether the removal of the signs is tied to a complaint via 311.

The statement also says Local 522 is using the California Public Records Act to find out more information about the issue. As part of their public records request, the union is asking for records on every call made Friday to the 311 phone line.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Natomas public safety activist runs for City Council

2010-03-16T05:26:04Z

Angelique Ashby is a Natomas neighborhood activist who views public safety as the city's top priority. Ashby, who is running for Sacramento City Council, has the support of two major local public safety unions: the Sacramento Police Officers Association and Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522.

The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June election.

Ashby is running for City Council in District 1, which is now represented by Councilman Ray Tretheway. The district includes the neighborhoods of North and South Natomas and Alkali Flat.

The 20-year Sacramento resident is a partner in a consulting firm that contracts with businesses and government agencies. She said she has worked on programs involving at-risk youth and parolees.

Ashby, 34, is also president of the Creekside Neighborhood Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis, and a law degree from McGeorge School of Law.

If elected to the City Council, her key focus would be on public safety, which she described as an obligation. In her view, public safety encompasses flood and fire protection and police work.

Among other goals, she said she wants to help the City Council members communicate with each other.

Quality-of-life issues are important to Ashby. “The way I think that you address quality-of-life issues is that you listen,” she said. “You listen to what it is that people want.”

Another priority of Ashby’s would be the local economy. “We have got to bring jobs to Sacramento,” she said.

Ashby said she successfully directed the push for a Natomas community policing center — the Natomas Police and Community Resource Center was created in 2008. Ashby notes that she worked on plans to start the center without a budget. Land was donated for the center, which is operated by a group of more than 60 volunteers, she said.

The items in the center are also donated, she said, with the exception of phone and Internet.

“Those types of outside-of-the-box thinking, they ... release some pressure on having to come up with dollars in a budget that doesn’t have room, or having to create a new tax for something,” Ashby said. “Sometimes, you can just work a little harder, build a few more relationships and come up with some solid solutions.”

She also ran a drive to apply fees from developers toward a new fire station in Natomas, she said. Construction for he station, which will be located west of Interstate 5, will kick off in April, according to Ashby’s website.

In response to a question from The Sacramento Press, Ashby said she is receiving advice from political communications consultant Steve Maviglio on a volunteer basis.

Maviglio volunteers for Mayor Kevin Johnson on political issues, such as Johnson’s campaign for a strong mayor form of government. The Sacramento Press asked Ashby if she would be an ally of Johnson’s if she were elected to the City Council. “First of all, and very importantly, I consider myself to be an ally of every member of the council, including the mayor,” she said. “What they think of me is up to them. But why would anyone want to elect a person who doesn’t want to work with the city mayor? If it was Heather Fargo, my answer would be the same.”

Of the three candidates for the District 1 seat, Ashby is second to Tretheway in campaign fundraising. Tretheway took in $79,278 for his campaign last year, according to campaign statements.

Campaign statements show that Ashby raised $26,452 last year. Candidate Efren Guttierrez said earlier this month that he has raised about $2,000 for his campaign.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Firefighters' jobs likely to be saved

2009-07-02T03:28:31Z

The Sacramento City Council is about 99 percent sure that no firefighters will be laid off this week.

The local firefighters’ union and city officials reached a breakthrough in negotiations Wednesday and have made a tentative agreement to not lay off 68 firefighters. The last step will be for Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 members to vote on the agreement this week. It is likely that Local 522 members will vote in favor of the agreement because they proposed it to city officials.

While dozens of firefighter jobs are likely to be saved, about 180 city workers in other departments still face layoffs on Thursday, according to Assistant City Manager Gus Vina.

Several councilmembers returned from vacation Wednesday afternoon to approve the firefighters’ deal in a private meeting at City Hall. Mayor Kevin Johnson and six councilmembers talked to reporters after the private meeting.

“It is a very good day in the city of Sacramento,” Johnson said.

City officials wanted to balance the budget and protect public safety, and it’s likely that those goals will be met, Johnson said.

David Dolson, a firefighter and representative of Local 522, said union members are very happy that they’ve been able to both provide high quality public safety and save firefighters’ jobs. Ensuring that the community has the best fire protection has been “our main goal the whole time,” Dolson said.

The union will recommend to its members that they vote in favor of the contract, he said.

The council’s unanimous approval of the deal marks the end of this year’s highly controversial negotiations between Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 and city managers. The Wednesday agreement came back from the dead: The city and Local 522 had ended negotiations last week.

City officials said last week that up to 68 firefighters were scheduled to be laid off. The union had also threatened to file a lawsuit against the city, claiming that city officials had engaged in “unfair bargaining practices.”

The deal means that firefighters would give up salary increases over the next 30 months, according to Local 522 and city officials. The agreement also states that the city would promise to not lay off firefighters for one year, union representatives and city officials said. Firefighters will give up the 5 percent increase scheduled for this month.

The city will save about $10.8 million as a result of the deal, according to Vina.

The Sacramento Press was not able to obtain a copy of the agreement, and cannot independently verify the details of the agreement until it is public.

Councilmembers Bonnie Pannell and Steve Cohn did not attend the closed session. The members who attended formed the required quorum.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

The guide to local government budget madness

2009-06-30T02:49:02Z

I’ve learned a few lessons recently about how and why local government budgets don’t make sense. Over the past month, I’ve reported on the city budget and asked government officials and union representatives many questions about financial figures and numbers of layoffs. While the officials answered my questions, some budget figures remained nonsensical. I would like to share with The Sacramento Press' readers the following Guide to Local Government Budget Madness.

Rule #1: The number of “positions” being removed is not the number of “people” being laid off.

Back in May, city officials wrote that that they would cut 387 positions. The budget document said that cuts included the “unfunding of 387 FTE.” (FTE stands for full-time equivalent position.) You might think that means 387 layoffs, but don’t be fooled! The “387 FTE” figure included vacant positions. So, in May, the city estimated it would need to lay off 189 people because 198 positions were vacant, according to acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson. So, 387 positions=189 layoffs.

Here are my two cents for people who write budget documents: Include the number of positions to be deleted along with the numbers of actual layoffs. That way people won’t read 387 FTE and think it means 387 layoffs.

I’m using the 387=189 example to illustrate the logic of budget documents, but those numbers don’t even exist anymore. Sacramento approved its budget earlier this month, and the number of layoffs is now 168.

Rule #2: Budget numbers change all the time, and different groups disagree on the numbers.

To be fair, it makes sense that budget numbers change constantly. The government agencies working with the numbers are trying to find ways to close budget gaps and lower the number of layoffs. The day-to-day number crunching is part of the budget process.

What doesn’t make sense, though, is how clashing groups interpret numbers for budget cuts. Let’s take the example of the failed negotiations between city officials and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522. Layoffs of firefighters are part of the city’s budget cuts.

Klock-Johnson said earlier this month that the city sent 68 layoff notices to firefighters. But Local 522 said in a June 17 press release that “at least 70” pink slips were sent to firefighters. The number of layoff notices was a point of contention between the two groups earlier this month.

Rule #3: You can always count on local governments to bash the state government.

Before the city balanced its budget earlier this month, it faced a $50 million deficit. Sacramento County confronted an even larger budget gap of $180 million before the Board of Supervisors adopted a proposed budget June 17.

But in terms of deficits, the state’s $24.3 billion budget gap takes the cake.

The locals have reason to be upset with the state. It’s the state, after all, that’s saying it wants to borrow $2 billion from local governments to help balance its budget.

Disputes between local governments and the state government prompt local officials to unleash their anger through cliche-laden statements. An aggrieved Mayor Kevin Johnson showed off his way with words in an e-mail to The Sacramento Press in May.

“The very last option should be robbing our city of its fair share of state aid, because that’s just robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he said.

But the state’s problems are so huge they cannot fully be addressed in The Guide to Local Government Budget Madness--the state’s budget nonsense deserves its own guide.

Rule #4: There is no such thing as objective reality when dealing with budgets, layoffs and negotiations between managers and unions.

Language in contracts is always open for interpretation. Assistant City Manager Gus Vina and Local 522 spokeswoman Robin Swanson took wildly opposite views of a recent firefighters’ contract proposal.

Here’s the controversial sentence from the proposal: “Effective June 19, 2010, salary ranges in terms of bi-weekly rates shall be adjusted by five (5%), and are set forth in Exhibit A-2.”

To Vina, the sentence means that firefighters were trying to clinch a 5 percent salary increase that would begin June 19, 2010.

But to Swanson, the proposed contract’s language means that firefighters want to start negotiating for a 5 percent raise in 2010. The union had also been willing to give up a scheduled 5 percent increase for July 2009.

Vina viewed the contract as setting the 2010 raise in stone, while the union viewed it as a starting point for future negotiations. The City Council voted down the proposal.

So, you ask, is there anything in this example that makes sense? Yes, what makes sense are these facts of civic life: Managers and unions live on different planets. Everything is up for debate. And budget numbers -- especially those that refer to people losing jobs -- are not objective. Not now, not ever.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Now public: Details on failed deal between city, firefighters

2009-06-27T02:57:58Z

City managers and the local firefighters’ union have widely different views of the most recent failed proposal for the firefighters’ contract. The Sacramento Press readers can join the debate by reading official memos from the recent contract proposal here.

Contract negotiations between Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 and city officials failed earlier this week. After the most recent deal flopped, the City Council decided to move ahead with its budget cut to fire 68 firefighters. The last day of the work for the 68 firefighters is July 2, and they will be paid through July 3, according to acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson. The union points out that the firefighters will be laid off prior to the Fourth of July holiday, which means there are higher public safety risks.

The two sides disagreed over the meaning of the language in the latest contract proposal. The proposal includes language referring to a 5 percent pay cut in the 2009/2010 fiscal year, a 5 percent pay raise in the 2010/2011 fiscal year and paid time off.

City officials and union representatives both agree that firefighters were willing to give up the 5 percent salary increase scheduled for next month. However, the groups are divided on how they view the language referring to a pay increase in the 2010/2011 fiscal year.

The paragraphs in the proposal that referred to the 5 percent pay raise in June 2010 were not mentioned in Local 522’s June 23 statement that was sent to media outlets. The statement sent out by Local 522 is available here.

“Effective June 19, 2010, salary ranges in terms of bi-weekly rates shall be adjusted by five (5%), and are set forth in Exhibit A-2, ” according to the proposal for the agreement.

Assistant City Manager Gus Vina contends that the proposal’s language means that firefighters were asking for a 5 percent raise that would kick in on June 19, 2010. He also raised objections to another sentence in the proposal, which states: “This agreement shall remain in full force and effect from June 20, 2009 to, and include June 19, 2010.”

By using the word “include” in the sentence, Local 522 is again saying that the raise would start on June 19, 2010, Vina says.

Local 522 spokeswoman Robin Swanson strongly disagreed with Vina’s arguments about the proposed contract language. "It’s very disappointing that they would put that out there,” Swanson said. “It’s very clear that the firefighters have been willing to give up their raise.”

Swanson also commented on the language that refers to the 5 percent salary increase in 2010. She said the language means that firefighters want to come back to the negotiating table in one year, and negotiate from the same starting point, which was a 5 percent increase.

Swanson raised concerns about public safety. “Sixty-eight firefighters laid off the day before the Fourth of July: That’s crazy,” she said.

Vina responded that the city and Local 522 have been involved in complicated negotiations for months. He said he had “absolutely no level of comfort or confidence” that there could be a successful deal to eliminate the 5 percent raise in 2010 if it was put into the contract.

Vina said the agreement would have meant the city would have to pay firefighters a 5 percent raise in 2010 while other unions receive less.

He said he had a challenge for the union: If Local 522 is honestly saying that the 5 percent raise in 2010 is “up for grabs,” why did the union put the language for the raise in the proposal?

The proposal also had language relating to time off for firefighters: “Employees will receive forty (40) hours, or fifty-six (56) hours in suppression, of paid time off on June 20, 2009.”

The Sacramento Press was able to view the proposal documents after negotiations ended between the union and city managers.

Klock-Johnson noted that materials and conversations about labor relations are confidential during the course of negotiations.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Firefighters say they will sue city for "unfair bargaining"

2009-06-24T22:16:48Z

Local firefighters are now saying they will sue the city, a day after the City Council decided to lay off 68 firefighters.

The firefighters’ union, Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, sent out a press release Wednesday alleging that city officials have engaged in “unfair bargaining practices.”

The city has "not received or been served with any litigation documents," said acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson. " Until such time [that] we are and they are reviewed by the City Attorney we are unable to comment."

Local 522 firefighter and spokesman Chris Harvey expressed frustration with the city’s decision to throw out the latest tentative deal between the two parties. The most recent agreement featured a 5 percent salary cut for firefighters during the 2009/2010 fiscal year. The deal would have also required city officials to not lay off firefighters for one year.

"The city’s rejection of the firefighters' fair and reasonable deal supported by Councilmembers Lauren Hammond and Steve Cohn to take pay-cuts in return for no layoffs clearly shows that the city’s intent all along was to lay off firefighters,” Harvey said in a statement.

An earlier deal between the two groups failed. It included a five-year agreement with pay raises that totaled 11 percent by 2014. In another doomed deal, firefighters would have received small raises in 2010 and 2011, and would have skipped their planned five percent cost-of-living increase.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Layoffs for 68 firefighters, 200 other city workers

2009-06-24T02:04:11Z

A total of 68 firefighters are scheduled to be laid off during the first week of July, assistant city manager Gus Vina said on Tuesday.

Mayor Kevin Johnson told reporters Tuesday that the Sacramento City Council did not accept the latest tentative deal with Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522. Since the firefighters and city managers did not reach a labor agreement, the city plans to go through with its plan to lay off 68 firefighters. The firefighter layoffs are part of the city's budget cuts.

"This is a setback, but the world doesn't stop here," Johnson told reporters Tuesday night.

The city also did not arrive at a deal with Stationary Engineers Local 39, according to Vina. This means that about 200 city workers who are represented by Local 39 will be laid off. The workers who will be laid off will receive pay through July 3. Their last day of work will be July 2, said acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Talks go downhill for firefighters' union, city managers

2009-06-19T04:27:04Z

Labor negotiations between the firefighters’ union and the city have gone downhill fast.

The firefighters’ union, Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, sent out press releases to media outlets Wednesday that said the union was going to “explore legal options” in its dispute with city management.

The firefighters and city managers are engaging in controversial negotiations because city officials are planning to lay off firefighters if the union does not make concessions. Firefighter and union spokesman Chris Harvey said Tuesday that 41 firefighters may lose their jobs. The City Council approved its budget Tuesday, closing a gap of more than $43 million.

“We now must explore all legal and other options to ensure that firefighters are treated fairly in this process and public safety is protected,” Harvey said in a press release.

Responding to the union’s claim that it may examine legal options, acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson said that a lawsuit has not been submitted to the city. She said she couldn’t comment on a possible lawsuit until she sees it.

Details about the options the firefighters may pursue were not available at press time. Local 522 spokeswoman Robin Swanson was not immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters are upset that the City Council decided Tuesday to back out of a tentative deal in which firefighters would have been paid salary increases over a five-year period. The salary increases added up to a total of 11 percent by 2014, Harvey said Tuesday. In the deal, the city offered only one year of layoff protections, he added.

The union is angered that the City Council rejected the agreement while firefighters were voting on it, according to the press release. Firefighters also note that they first learned about the city’s rejection of the deal through the media.

The union is indicating that it may fight for the agreement the city rejected Tuesday. “Firefighters are sealing the results from this election to explore legal options that would ensure that the city uphold the agreed-upon contract,” according to the statement.

Union members voted down an earlier deal with city management June 5.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Budget Update: City layoffs to occur in about two weeks

2009-06-17T20:59:59Z

The City Council has changed its original plan to lay off 168 workers Friday, and now layoffs are expected to take place in about two weeks, according to acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson.

The number of layoffs is in flux and may soon change depending on negotiations with five city unions.

On Tuesday, the city adopted its 2009/2010 fiscal year budget and closed out a gap of more than $43 million. The budget that was approved comes with major cuts to city services. Changes to the budget will be amendments because the budget has been adopted.

City officials continued to say Tuesday that many cuts and layoffs could be averted if the unions make concessions.

Negotiations between city managers and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 continue to be controversial. The City Council did not approve the latest agreement with the firefighters’ union, Klock-Johnson said.

The layoff dates are being extended to allow the city more time to come to concessions with unions, she said. The city is lengthening the deadline for layoffs to all 168 workers, including those who are not represented by unions.

City passes budget, 168 workers to be laid off Friday

2009-06-17T05:29:38Z

The Sacramento City Council’s unanimous approval of Sacramento’s budget Tuesday means that city services could face major cuts and that the last day of work for 168 city employees is Friday. While the council adopted the budget, the situation may soon change because some of the city’s key unions, including its firefighters’ union, have not yet finished negotiations with the city.

Sacramento has balanced its budget and closed a gap of more than $43 million. City officials continued to say Tuesday that many cuts and layoffs could be averted if the unions make concessions. Since the budget has now been approved, any changes to the budget would be amendments.

Of the 168 layoffs approved with the budget, 41 will be from the Sacramento Fire Department, according to the latest numbers from the labor union that represents city firefighters.

The Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 and city managers are in the midst of controversial negotiations. Members of the firefighters’ union will finish voting on their latest tentative agreement with the city Wednesday afternoon. The results of the vote won’t be available until Thursday, said union spokesman Chris Harvey.

Several council members pressed for union concessions during the meeting.

"We need them to step up now," said Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy.

The final deadline for unions to approve labor agreements with the city for the 2009/2010 fiscal year is June 30 at midnight, according to acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson.

City firefighters and Local 522 member Brandon Doughty told the city council that he was one of the firefighters who would be laid off. In his remarks, he referenced the city government's slogan: “Get the customer to success.” He said that the layoffs mean that getting the customer to success is the last thing the city is concerned with. The city has made poor financial decisions in the past, he said.

Councilman Steve Cohn agreed in part with Doughty’s comments, saying that the city has approved some “foolish expenses” in the past. However, reversing those past decisions would not change the budget situation now, he said.

Harvey said after the vote that the city is unfairly saying that union concessions are the way to fix the city’s budget problems.

City weighs firefighters' new labor proposal

2009-06-09T02:21:19Z

City management was not yet ready to comment at 5 p.m. Monday on the local firefighters’ union's latest proposal on pay and layoffs.

Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 has pitched a new proposal to put salary increases on hold for the next 30 months if the city will guarantee no layoffs throughout that period of time, said Local 522 spokeswoman Robin Swanson.

Swanson described the proposal as “inherently fair" and said it would bring more than $10 million in savings to the city.

Acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson did not have an update Monday afternoon on the city’s reaction to the union’s proposal.

City managers and firefighters resumed negotiations after firefighters voted down a deal Friday. In the vetoed deal, firefighters would have not received a 5 percent cost-of-living increase scheduled for July. The nixed deal featured a 1 percent pay increase for firefighters in July 2010 and a 2 percent increase in 2011.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City/County Budget Crisis: The weekly roundup

2009-06-08T01:55:25Z

City Distributes 168 Pink Slips

Many city employees learned last week that their last day of work may be June 19. The city distributed 168 pink slips Monday, June 2.

The 168 figure is not set in stone. City officials said fewer people may be laid off if unions make concessions. The city is dealing with a budget deficit in excess of $43 million.

Firefighters Nix Labor Agreement with City

City managers and the local firefighters’ union both said Friday they are willing to head back to the bargaining table after firefighters voted down a labor deal last week.

The city’s decision to distribute layoff notices to firefighters is a key dispute between city management and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522. The preliminary agreement that firefighters tossed out would have kept Sacramento Fire Department jobs and cut firefighters’ upcoming cost-of-living salary increase.

The union said the city’s layoff notices were an intimidation tactic. But city managers said they were being straightforward in their negotiations with the union.

The jobs of 68 employees in the Sacramento Fire Department are at stake. Of the 68 employees, 50 are firefighters, nine are engineers and nine are captains.

County Budget Released

Sacramento County released its proposed 2009/2010 budget Friday night. Look for our coverage on the county budget this week.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Firefighters scrap labor deal with city, talks may resume

2009-06-06T02:28:42Z

The local firefighters’ union Friday scrapped a deal with city management that would have cut firefighters' salary increases and maintained jobs.

Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 is attributing the failure of the deal to the city’s decision to send layoff notices to firefighters earlier this week. Meanwhile, the city is saying that it was straightforward in its negotiations with the union.

The city, which is facing a deficit of more than $43 million, plans to lay off 68 people in the Sacramento Fire Department if the union does not make concessions.

Both sides said Friday that they are ready to start negotiations again. Local 522 spokesperson Robin Swanson said firefighters are willing to go back to the negotiating table and “figure this out.”

“The city needs to operate in good faith,” she said.

The city is asking for concessions from the union to help balance its budget and avoid fire department layoffs, said Gus Vina, assistant city manager. “This issue is too important for us to give up on."

Under the terms of the deal that was voted down, firefighters would have skipped their 5 percent cost-of-living increase scheduled for July. The agreement guaranteed firefighters a 1 percent pay increase in July 2010, to be followed by a 2 percent raise in 2011. Two-thirds of union members voted down the agreement Friday, Swanson said, and the deal failed with 66 percent opposed and 34 percent in support.

The union expressed anger that the city sent pink slips to firefighters after the groups forged a preliminary deal.

The union sent out a press release to media outlets Friday morning saying that more than 70 firefighters received layoff letters on Tuesday, after the union had already made the early agreement with the city and before union members started voting on it.

The city’s move "is creating all kinds of mistrust among firefighters who thought they had a deal with the city,” Swanson said before the results of the vote were announced.

The city’s decision to send the layoff notices was either meant to intimidate the firefighters or the result of “gross incompetence,” Swanson said.

But Vina said the city was clear in its negotiations with the union. The union knew layoff letters were coming, he said.

From the beginning of negotiations, “Local 522 [and] city staff knew that we were looking at a reduction of 50 firefighter positions, as part of the necessary reductions for next year if we don’t get the labor concessions,” Vina said. “They knew the letters for the layoffs were going to go out on June 1.”

City spokesperson Wendy Klock-Johnson provided numbers that differed from Swanson’s. On Monday, the city sent 68 layoff notices to firefighters and 100 layoff notices to other city staffers, according to Klock-Johnson.

Vina explained that the 68 layoffs figure includes 50 firefighters, nine engineers and nine captains. The engineers and captains have the ability to move down to firefighter positions, which would displace people in those positions.

Firefighters say a deal with city is near

2009-05-29T01:56:14Z

The local firefighters’ union may complete its contract negotiations with the city next week, according to Chris Harvey, spokesman for Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522.

The union is still confident it will be able to reach an agreement with the city “that’s beneficial to the citizens of Sacramento, as well as the firefighters,” Harvey said.

Gus Vina, the Sacramento assistant city manager negotiating with the union, was not available to immediately return a phone call Thursday.

The city’s $50 million deficit would be resolved through cuts in the proposed budget. The fire department would face cuts of 50 positions and $5 million, the budget document states. Vina has said that the planned cuts to the fire department would not take place if the firefighters decide to give up scheduled pay increases.

City: Layoffs to occur even with union concessions

2009-05-08T00:51:04Z

City management will still need to lay off staff even if all of its unions make concessions, according to the city’s finance director.

Sacramento Finance Director Leyne Milstein said she could not say how many layoffs would be needed if all the unions make concessions. That’s because the City Council will make the final decisions on cuts to services and programs, Milstein said.

Concessions from the unions will not create enough savings to avoid layoffs, Milstein said.

The city’s proposed budget aims to resolve a $50 million deficit.

If the unions do not make concessions, city management plans to lay off 189 city employees.

At its May 19 meeting, the City Council will address the proposed budget.

The city is in negotiations with its unions, which include the firefighters’ union, Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, and the Stationary Engineers Local 39. Sacramento government has eight labor unions.

The Sacramento Police Officers Association is the lone union at this time that has made concessions.

City Budget: City in talks with firefighters

2009-04-29T05:20:30Z

A city official said Tuesday he was optimistic about current efforts to save Sacramento $5 million and 50 jobs through negotiations with the local firefighters’ union.

Gus Vina, a Sacramento assistant city manager, said the city is currently in talks with the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522.

The city government is trying to convince the firefighters’ union to give up pay increases scheduled for July.

Vina said the city and the firefighters’ union are engaged in “very productive” discussions.

If the firefighters’ union does not give up its pay increases, Vina said the city will need to lay off 50 department employees. The positions could come from any of the following types of firefighting jobs: firefighters, captains or the operators who drive the fire trucks.

But if the union makes concessions, Vina said, the city will save $5 million and won’t need to make the cuts.

Meanwhile, Chris Harvey, spokesman for the firefighters’ union, said the union disagrees with the city’s assessment that it will need to lay off 50 firefighters. Harvey called the figure of 50 layoffs “arbitrary.” He said that if 10 people from the department retire, the city wouldn’t have to lay off 50 people.

In addition to the discussion of whether the firefighters will give up scheduled pay increases, Harvey said the union is also discussing other issues with the city.

It does not necessarily mean that if Vina is happy, then the “union is prepared to give back the raises,” Harvey said.

But Harvey also said the union is happy that the attitude from both parties in the negotiations has been positive.

The city and Local 522 have not always had the best relationship, Harvey noted. If nothing else, the tone of the current negotiations is much better than past negotiations, he said.

Sacramento’s deficit is about $50 million. The city will release its proposed 2009/2010 budget Friday. It must approve a final budget by June 30.

Vina estimated that the city still needs to cut about 300 positions in city government in order to address its budget problems.

He said he hopes to complete negotiations with all city unions by the end of May.

If management convinces all eight of the city’s labor unions to make concessions, the city may only need to cut 150 positions, Vina said.
He pointed out that the city currently has a volunteer separation program in which employees accept buyouts.

The employee buyouts are part of the city’s strategy to further reduce the number of layoffs it may make, according to Vina.

So, Vina said, the number may be even lower than 150.

The city is asking the non-emergency services unions to give up pay increases, as well as for employees to take one furlough day per month, according to Vina.

City Manager Ray Kerridge wrote in an April 3 letter to employees that layoff notifications will take place in early June.

Joan Bryant, director of public employees for the Stationary Engineers, which includes a local union chapter for Sacramento workers, said the union has been talking with city management about the magnitude of the city’s budget deficit and management’s expectations for workers.

She said the union needs to gather more information to make sure it will act in the best interests of its members and the city.

Asked if the union’s members might be willing to give up pay increases and start a once-per-month furlough, Bryant said the union will look at all of those options.

She said the union was waiting to receive information from the city. Once the union gets the information it needs, it will have a better idea of what it will decide, she added.

At this point, one union has made concessions to the city. The police department’s union, the Sacramento Police Officers Association, chose to give up its July salary increases, Vina said. As a result, the city will not cut police officers, he noted.