By Leslie Parrilla
The Press Enterprise
CORONA, Calif. — Police and firefighters in Corona have agreed to forgo raises to help the city save an estimated $4.1 million.
The City Council voted 4-0 Wednesday, with Councilman Steve Nolan absent, to revise labor agreements with the Corona Firefighters Association and the Corona Police Officers Association.
Both union groups agreed to defer 4 percent raises this year.
The president of the police association, Jim Auck, who also is a Corona police detective, said the city asked him if police could help reduce costs because of a city budget shortfall.
Police agreed to additional concessions of each officer taking four unpaid furlough days during the year, reducing quarterly uniform allowances to $550 from $750, and forgoing $1,416 each that the city normally contributes to a deferred compensation account.
Police also agreed to give up 4 percent in benefits.
Officers will lose about $7,500 each a year from the concessions, Auck said, but the end result is that they’re keeping jobs.
“What it comes down to is if we don’t do this, we’re going to lose bodies,” Auck said. “We were looking at losing 15 officers.”
The Police Department has lost 20 positions over the past two years by eliminating vacant positions and laying off some non-sworn employees.
Benefit change
Police did receive one benefit during negotiations. An amendment to survivor benefits allows the surviving spouse of an officer to collect a percentage of that officer’s retirement benefits instead of a one-time settlement.
Firefighters made fewer concessions but also agreed to forgo salary increases. In addition, they deferred a 5 percent raise next year, according to a city report. Firefighters last received a raise in September 2008.
Association Vice President Randy Brunet said firefighters discussed a number of options to reduce expenses for the city before ultimately agreeing to the city’s request to forgo raises this year.
Brunet said the roughly 110 firefighters the association represents believe their obligation to the public and keeping services safe and reliable take precedence.
“We’re not serving the public if we’re taking a raise and closing down a fire station,” Brunet said.
Firefighters extended their contract to June 2013, while police are scheduled to return to the bargaining table in June 2014.
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