1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: October 29, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Betsy McClinton, Management Services Director
BY: Julie Chaidez, Acting Human Resources Manager
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution to Approve a Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Burbank and the Burbank Police Officers’ Association; and Adoption of a Resolution to Approve a Citywide Salary Schedule
RECOMMENDATION
1. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK
APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) WITH THE CITY OF BURBANK AND THE BURBANK POLICE OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION (BPOA) FROM JULY 1, 2024 – JUNE 30, 2027.
2. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK APPROVING A CITYWIDE SALARY SCHEDULE.
BACKGROUND
The Burbank Police Officers’ Association (BPOA) is a recognized employee organization that currently includes a total of 155 budgeted Police Officers, Police Sergeants, and Police Lieutenants who play an integral role in protecting life and property , providing professional police services , and working in partnership with the community. BPOA’s previous contract was in effect from December 14, 2021, through June 30, 2024.
In accordance with Government Code § 20636 and California Code of Regulations § 570.5, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) requires public agencies to post a publicly available salary schedule to determine earnable compensation that is approved by Council at a public meeting.
MANAGEMENT
SERVICES
2 DISCUSSION
Negotiations with the BPOA began in March 2024. Since then, staff and the BPOA Executive Board held 15 negotiation meetings to reach a tentative agreement that will benefit both BPOA employees and the City.
Negotiations focused on preserving the Burbank Police Department’s ( BPD) ability to compete in an exceptionally difficult labor market. Mirroring nationwide trends, BPD faced unprecedented challenges with p olice recruitment during the term of BPOA’s previous contract from 2021- 2024. Local police departments continue to take extraordinary measures to recruit and retain Police Officers . As such, staff conducted an analysis of total compensation to reevaluate Burbank’s standing in its relevant market; the analysis helped the parties identify increases in compensation that will ensure long- term staffing stability for BPD, while balancing Council’s adopted financial policy, which states: “To recruit and retain a well -qualified workforce to provide exceptional services, we will compensate employees at a level commensurate with the average of Burbank’s relevant labor market.”
The City and the BPOA reached a tentative agreement for the period of July 1 , 2024 through June 30, 2027. This package includes changes in salary and benefits, as listed in the Summary of Contract Changes (Attachment 4), and detailed below:
Salary Adjustments
To preserve BPD’s ability to compete against unprecedented, nationwide p olice recruitment challenges, and to retain and incentiv ize officers to promote within BPOA, staff recommends providing salary increases effective the pay period following Council adoption, which is November 10, 2024, that will maintain, or elevate, BPOA’s standing within its relevant market, as outlined below (Table 1, Column 2).
Table 1: Recommended BPOA Salary Increases for FY 2024-25 Column 1 Column 2
BPOA Rank FY 2024-25
Effective November 10, 2024
Officer 3.00%
Sergeant 8.50%
Lieutenant 3.00%
Additionally, effective the pay period containing July 1, 2025, staff recommends providing a 3% salary increase for all BPOA employees to align with anticipated market movement in FY 2025-26.
3 Finally, effective the pay period containing July 1, 2026, staff recommends providing a minimum 3% salary increase, or up to 4% average salary increase based on a base salary survey that will be conducted for FY 2026-27.
Education Differential
As part of the total compensation survey conducted by staff of BPOA’s relevant market, staff discovered that the compensation paid to BPOA Lieutenants with a masters’ degree is below the market average. As such, to become more competitive in the market, and to foster an environment within BPD that values educational achievement, staff recommends increasing the compensation paid to employees who possess a masters’ degree from $ 495/month to $ 565/month, effective the pay period following Council adoption (November 10, 2024), which will bring the pay up to market average.
Retention Pay
As agencies in BPOA’s relevant market continue to take extraordinary measures to recruit and retain Police Officers, staff recommends building in a tool to enable the C ity to act quickly when urgent staffing needs arise. As such, staff recommends establishing Retention Pay, effective the pay period following Council adoption (November 10, 2024), to allow the City, at its sole discretion, to have the option of providing additional pay, up to a maximum of 8% of base salary, to any BPOA classification for which the City is struggling to retain. The City may also remove retention pay from any BPOA classification at its sole discretion.
Longevity Pay
A recent survey conducted by staff showed that Burbank is below the average of market for longevity pay at 25 years of service. To align with the relevant market, and to promote long-term retention of BPOA employees, which will help BPD better serve the community, staff recommends adding longevity pay at 25 years, and increasing current longevity pay, effective the pay period following Council adoption (November 10, 2024), as follows:
Table 3: Recommended Increases to BPOA Longevity Pay
K-9 Differential
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Tenure Current
Recommended
(Effective: November
10, 2024)
10 years 3.00% of base pay 3.50% of base pay
15 years 4.50% of base pay 5.00% of base pay
20 years 7.00% of base pay 7.50% of base pay
25 years (recommended) 9.50% of base pay
4 Based on a survey of BPOA’s relevant market, staff recommends providing 3.1% of the top step salary of Police Officer to BPOA represented employees who are assigned to K- 9 duty, effective the pay period following Council adoption (November 10, 2024).
POST Pay
Based on a survey of BPOA’s relevant market, staff recommends increasing Management POST Pay from 9% to 10.25% of the top step salary of Police Lieutenant , effective the pay period following Council adoption (November 10, 2024).
Standby Pay
Based on a survey of BPOA’s relevant market, staff recommends increasing compensation from two to four hours of straight time per day for BPOA represented employees required to be on standby on their off -duty days , effective the pay period following Council adoption (November 10, 2024).
MOU Clean-Up
Finally, the proposed MOU contains additional non-financial revisions that include clean- up language, incorporation of side letters, and clarifications specific to the Police Detective assignment.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and such as, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost associated with the proposed changes in FY 2024- 25 is $1,063,941. Sufficient funds are available in the existing FY 2024- 25 Adopted Budget to account for the cost; therefore, an additional budget appropriation is not required.
The ongoing fiscal impact of the changes associated with the proposed BPOA MOU is $2,731,491 in FY 2025-26, and $4,308,201 in FY 2026-27, which will be incorporated into the Five-Year Financial Forecast.
CONCLUSION
By approving the recommended increases in compensation for BPOA employees and Police Recruits, the Council will ensure that BPD remains competitive in an exceptionally challenging labor market. With many local and nationwide police departments struggling to attract and retain qualified candidates, the recommended increases in compensation are essential to ensure that BPD is fully staffed with the most qualified employees capable of delivering the highest level of service to the Burbank community. 5 ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Resolution Approving BPOA MOU
Attachment 2 – Resolution Approving a Citywide Salary Schedule Attachment 3 – BPOA Redline MOU
Attachment 4 – Summary of Contract Changes