1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: June 24, 2025
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Betsy McClinton, Management Services Director
BY: Julie Chaidez, Human Resources Manager
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Approving a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Burbank and the Burbank Fire Fighters from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 202 8; and Adoption of a Resolution Approving 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 FIRE FIGHTERS (BFF) FROM JULY 1, 202 5 – JUNE 30, 2028.
2. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK APPROVING A CITYWIDE SALARY SCHEDULE.
BACKGROUND
The BFF is a recognized employee organization that currently includes a total of 114 Fire Fighters, Fire Engineers, and Fire Captains who play an integral role in providing reliable emergency and safety services to the residents and businesses of Burbank. Services include fire prevention, fire suppression, emergency medical services (EMS), emergency management, fire apparatus and equipment, and training. The most recent contract between the City and the BFF was effective July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025.
Negotiations for a successor agreement began in January 2025. Since that time, the City and the BFF have held nine negotiation meetings and have reached a tentative agreement covering the period of July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028.
2 Because the tentative agreement includes changes to employee salaries, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) requires the City, as a public agency, to adopt a publicly available salary schedule—approved by Council at a public meeting—in accordance with Government Code § 20636 and California Code of Regulations § 570.5.
This schedule is used by PERS to determine earnable compensation for BFF employees.
DISCUSSION
Negotiations between the City and the BFF focused on preserving the positive impact of the previous contract, which had been designed to address the unprecedented recruitment and retention challenges faced both industry -wide and within the Burbank Fire Department (BFD) at the outset of the prior negotiations.
The tentative agreement reached between t he City and the BFF would maintain BFD’s position as a competitive leader in the market. This aligns with the Council’s adopted financial policy, which states: “In order 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.” T he agreement includes adjustments to compensation and benefits, as outlined in the Summary of Contract Changes (Attachment 4). Notable modifications include the following:
Salary Adjustments
Burbank’s relevant labor market includes comparable classifications in similar Southern California municipalities. A salary survey was conducted as part of negotiations to evaluate how BFF salaries compare to relevant market rates.
To preserve Burbank’s position as a competitive leader in the BFF’s labor market, and to support the BFD’s ability to recruit and retain high -quality personnel and continue providing the exceptional service the community expects , staff recommends approving salary increases for BFF’s members over three years as follows:
• 3% effective July 1, 2025
• 3% effective July 1, 2026
• 3% effective July 1, 2027
Medical Contribution
The City of Burbank is among other public agencies in Southern California who contract with PERS to provide medical insurance to its employees. To address anticipated average increases in PERS premiums based on historical trends, remain competitive in the labor market, and maintain equity with adjustments previously approved by Council for other labor groups citywide, staff recommends increasing the City’s monthly maximum medical contributions for BFF employees by 5% each December 1 over the term of the contract, as shown in Table 1, Columns 1, 2, and 3.
3 Table 1: BFF Medical Contributions
Retirement Benefits
• 457 Plan-Matching Funds for PEPRA Employees
Under the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013, employees hired on or after January 1, 2013, receive significantly lower PERS retirement benefits than “Classic” members hired before that date. Currently, approximately 56% of all City employees—and 58% of BFF members—are PEPRA members.
To promote greater parity among all City employees and help address the retirement benefit gap between Classic and PEPRA BFF employees, staff recommends the following:
o Effective July 1, 2025: City will match PEPRA employee contribution up to 2% of employee’s base pay.
o Effective July 1, 2026: City will increase its match for PEPRA employees to up to 3% to of employee’s base pay.
o Effective July 1, 2027: City will increase its match for PEPRA employees to up to 4% to of employee’s base pay.
• IAFF Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP)
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) MERP is a tax-sheltered benefit program designed to assist professional fire fighters in covering medical expenses during retirement. As soon as practical following Council approval, staff recommends that the City implement BFF employee contributions to the IAFF MERP, redirect its current $30/month Post-Employment Health Plan ( PEHP) contribution, and increase it by $7.50, for a total of $37.50/month per employee.
Special Compensation
• The City recognizes the value public safety employees bring to their work by seeking to further their education. As such, staff recommends increasing the education incentive for BFF employees, effective July 1, 2025, as follows:
o AA Degree: increase from $200 per month to 2.5% of top step Fire Fighter o BA Degree: increase from $300 per month to 4.5% of top step Fire Fighter o MA Degree: increase from $325 per month to 5.0% of top step Fire Fighter
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Effective 12/01/2025 Effective 12/01/2026 Effective 12/01/2026 1 Party From $730 to $767 From $767 to $805 From $805 to $845 2 Party From $1,459 to $1,532 From $1,532 to $1,609 From $1,609 to $1,690 Family From $1,895 to $1,990 From $1,990 to $2,089 From $2,089 to $2,195 4 • The existing Battalion Chief’s Aide Special Assignment has evolved to include an expanded scope of critical technical and operational support during emergency incidents and related duties. To reflect this expanded role, staff recommends renaming the positi on to Emergency Incident Technician (EIT) Special Assignment, effective July 1, 2025, and replacing the current biweekly pay of $140.15 with a 5% base wage differential.
• Based on market data supporting a higher level of compensation for the specialized skills required, staff recommends increasing the Fire Investigator Premium, effective July 1, 2025, from $250 per month to 3% of the top step Fire Engineer base salary.
Other negotiated items include changes to the conditions under which BFF employees may accrue compensatory time off in lieu of overtime, as well as new compensation guidelines for strike team personnel following their release from duty.
Finally, the proposed BFF MOU contains minor revisions, such as clean-up language, as detailed in the Redline MOU (Attachment 3).
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 as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Over the next three fiscal years, the cost of the compensation and benefit changes associated with the proposed BFF MOU is $6,895,312.
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 -26, the cost associated with the proposed changes is $1,221,791. Sufficient funds are available in the FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget to account for the cost; therefore, an additional budget appropriation is not required.
The ongoing fiscal impact associated with the proposed changes in FY 2026 -27 is $2,282,971, and $3,390,550 in FY 2027-28, which will be incorporated into the Five-Year Financial Forecast.
CONCLUSION
The proposed MOU between the City and the BFF addresses key compensation and benefit priorities, including salary increases, enhanced medical contributions, retirement plan adjustments, and special compensation updates. These updates support the Department’s ability to recruit and retain skilled personnel, while aligning with Council’s 5 adopted financial policy, thereby ensuring the continued delivery of exceptional emergency services to the community. Staff recommends the Council adopt the resolutions approving the MOU and the citywide salary schedule, thereby affirming the City’s commitment to its workforce and the safety of Burbank residents and community.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Resolution Approving the BFF MOU Effective 7/1/25 – 6/30/28 Attachment 2 – Resolution Approving a Citywide Salary Schedule Attachment 3 – Redline BFF MOU Effective 7/1/25 – 6/30/28 Attachment 4 – Summary of Contract Changes