By Jaimee Lynn Fletcher
The Orange County Register
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Firefighters are offering to pay more into their pensions, but not without locking down a contract extension and minimum staffing levels. To some it’s a good deal; others say it’s a risky idea in an unpredictable economy.
Union officials and city leaders have been negotiating for six months, but the City Council majority turned down the most recent proposal in May.
Huntington Beach Fire Association President Darrin Witt says the union is ready to continue negotiations if the city is up for it. The group’s proposal would save about $1.2 million over two years; fire employees would increase their pension payments to CalPERS to 6.75 percent from 2.25 percent.
Exploding pension costs have been a contentious topic as cities across California try to finagle a way to keep their promised contributions to their employees while battling the impacts of a suffering economy. Huntington Beach’s unfunded pension liability, including the city’s supplemental pension fund and using the most recent available market value, is about $370.3 million, according to CalPERS valuation reports.
Councilman Joe Shaw said he considers the union’s offer a start on the path to combat looming pension issues. “Most of the City Council agrees that all of our employees have to pay more into their pensions,” he said. “Our goal should be our non-safety employees pay 8 percent eventually and safety employees pay 9 percent.”
Councilman Don Hansen said the average firefighter has $43,000 in pension costs and the average fire employee pays $2,500. “Their contribution is pennies compared to what the taxpayers are supporting there,” he said.
“They are like spoiled children that have never been told ‘no,’” he said of the union. “They’re used to having all these things just fall. ... We just can’t afford it anymore.”
Witt said the union has tried to meet the council’s demands but is continuously turned down.
“It is hard for me to imagine how some would feel we are spoiled and trying to take advantage of the city when we have a contract and have no obligation to even meet with the city,” he wrote in an email to the Register. “We are trying to come up with real solutions to real problems.”
Labor negotiations are done in closed session, but Hansen said City Council members voted to talk publicly about some of the issues so residents could be aware of the situation.
City officials said they could not provide the proposed agreement; however, Calitics, an opinion blog covering local politics, posted a draft of the proposed agreement online. The draft says it was last updated April 1. The letter says firefighters have postponed two raises and instead are looking to increase their pension payments with the stipulation there be a minimum of four firefighters for each engine, 16 fire paramedics, 10 fire engineers and 10 fire captains on each shift at all times. The extension would make the contract good until June 2014. The current contract expires September 2013, the HBFA reported.
Hansen said lengthy contracts and minimum staffing requirements are a bad idea in uncertain economic times.
Reporter Jon Cassidy contributed to this report.
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