By Jan Sears
The Press Enterprise
REDLANDS, Calif. — Redlands has reached agreements with two firefighters’ employee associations that could result in more than $1 million in annual savings for the city.
The agreements with the Redlands Professional Firefighters Association and the Redlands Association of Fire Management Employees call for employees to increase their contributions to their retirement packages. Under the new pacts, overtime calculations will change to reflect only hours actually worked and minimum staffing level will decrease from 18 to 17 firefighters per shift.
The City Council will be asked to approve the agreement at its Oct. 16 meeting.
“Both sides worked diligently to address the city’s concerns and mitigate the impacts to our members,” Battalion Chief Jim Topoleski said Monday, Oct. 8. “There are wins for both sides in the agreements.”
Mayor Pete Aguilar described the negotiations as very productive.
“The council appreciates the spirit of cooperation the association members exhibited in reaching an agreement that continues to move the city forward in providing financial stability and sustainability for our residents and our employees,” he said in a news release.
If the agreements are approved, they will be effective until June 30, 2015.
Employees in both units agreed to increase their contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System packages and to reduce service retirement benefits available to new hires, city spokesman Carl Baker said in a news release.
Current employees will pay half of the 9 percent employee contribution to PERS for the first year after the agreements are approved, and the full 9 percent the second year.
Employees hired after the agreements take effect will pay the 9 percent contribution.
The city is expecting to save more than $330,000 in each of the first two years of the contracts with the retirement changes. Additional savings could be realized as more employees are hired, Baker said.
The contracts also change the formula for calculating overtime pay to include only actual overtime worked. Currently, fire department employees can include paid time off in their overtime calculations even if they don’t work more than the maximum 53 hours per week, Baker said in a release.
The agreement excludes those calculations. That could result in a savings to the city of about $864,000 annually, he said.
The agreement also drops minimum staffing to 17 firefighters per shift rather than 18. The higher number can mean more overtime costs as firefighters are called in to cover shifts for ill or vacationing personnel, Baker said. The lower number could save about $496,000.
Topoleski said the reduction could affect the number of firefighters on a truck, which the department prefers to be four.
“Anytime we take firefighters off fire engines it reduces our efficiency,” he said.
The agreements also cap the city’s contributions to employees’ medical premiums and requires them to pay half of all future increases, starting in January 2014.
Estimated savings from that change is $8,700 annually, Baker said.
In exchange for the concessions, the city added a new step that would give employees who qualify a 3 percent raise. Those who reach that step would be required to contribute the full 9 percent employee share of retirement contributions.
That change is estimated to cost the city about $100,000 in the first year, and about $220,000 in fiscal year 2015-16.
Employee furloughs were eliminated at an estimated cost to the city of $166,000 annually, Baker said.
If approved, the agreements will be in effect until June 30, 2015.
The Redlands council began negotiating with seven of the city’s nine employee bargaining units in February with the goal of achieving concessions on retirement and health benefits and controlling overtime costs, Baker said.
Bargaining units representing Redlands police officers agreed to extend their existing contracts. Negotiations with the remaining units are continuing.
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