DATE: 11/19/2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Human Resources Department
2025-422
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
CONSIDERATION OF VARIOUS ACTIONS MAKING COMPLIANCE ADJUSTMENTS
TO MOUS AND RESOLUTIONS CONCERNING COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
FOR CITY EMPLOYEES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
City Council consideration of Side Letters to Memoranda of Understanding with the Corona Public Service Employees Association, Corona Supervisors Association, Corona Firefighters Association, Corona Police Employees Association, Corona Police Supervisors Association, and the Corona Utilities Employee Association; and Amendments to Resolutions concerning the Executive, Management, and Confidential Groups.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Adopt the Side Letter to the Corona Public Service Employees Association Memorandum of Understanding.
b. Adopt the Side Letter to the Corona Supervisors Association Memorandum of Understanding.
c. Adopt the Side Letter to the Corona Firefighters Association Memorandum of Understanding.
d. Adopt the Side Letter to the Corona Police Employees Association and Corona Police Supervisors Association Memoranda of Understanding. e. Adopt the Letter of Agreement with the Corona Utilities Employees Association. f. Adopt Resolution 2025-108, amending Resolution 2024-116 governing compensation and benefits of non-represented Confidential Group employees. g. Adopt Resolution 2025-107, amending Resolution 2024-115 governing compensation and benefits of non-represented Management Group employees. h. Adopt Resolution 2025-109, amending Resolution 2025-118 governing compensation and benefits of non-represented Executive Group employees.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The California Meyers Milias Brown Act (MMBA) requires the City to meet and confer, in good faith, with its bargaining groups on all matters relating to employment conditions and employer-employee relations, including, but not limited to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. In December 2024, the City Council approved new three-year Memoranda of Understanding (MOU’s) with each of its employee associations, as well as updated compensation and benefits resolutions for the unrepresented Management, Confidential, and Executive employees.
The City’s bargaining groups are organized as follows:
The Corona Public Service Employees Association (CPSEA) represents most non-supervisory, miscellaneous, non-sworn positions.
The Corona Police Employees Association (CPEA) represents all sworn Police personnel in the classifications of Police Officer, Corporal, and Detective. The Corona Police Supervisors Association (CPSA) represents all sworn Police personnel in the classifications of Sergeant, Lieutenants, and Captain. The Corona Firefighters Association (CFA) represents all sworn Fire Department personnel in the classifications of Firefighter Trainee, Firefighter, Firefighter/Paramedic, Engineer, Battalion Chief, and Deputy Fire Chief. It also represents the personnel in the Fire Inspector/Fire Marshall series within the department.
The Corona Supervisors Association (CSA) represents the City’s supervisory, non-sworn classifications.
The Corona Utilities Employee Association (CUEA) represents certain certificated, field employees in the Utilities Department.
Non-represented employee groups include the City’s Confidential, Management, and Executive classifications, which are not represented by a bargaining unit.
ANALYSIS:
Since the approval of new multi-year agreements and resolutions last December, several developments have arisen that require updates to MOU and resolution language to ensure regulatory compliance. To make those language changes, it is proposed that the MOU’s be amended via a side letter with each represented group. The compensation and benefits resolutions with the unrepresented groups are proposed to be amended by resolution.
The changes being made in these side letters and resolutions are summarized as follows:
Holiday pay language: The MOU’s and resolutions include language regarding how holiday pay is calculated, and the City has been reporting holiday pay as Special Compensation to CalPERS as appropriate. Recently, CalPERS staff noted that the City’s MOU language needs modification to be fully compliant with CalPERS regulations regarding Special Compensation. The proposed side letters and resolutions will incorporate the required language additions to the relevant documents to satisfy the CalPERS requirements, retroactive to 2021 or 2022, when the previous respective MOUs or resolutions were implemented. Please note that these language changes are not required in the Executive and Management MOUs, as their holiday pay is not reportable as Special Compensation.
Post Employment Health Plan (PEHP) language: The MOU’s and resolutions also have language related to cash out of annual leave, and have included the option for employees to deposit excess annual leave to the employee PEHP accounts, which are referred to as Retiree Health Savings Accounts (RHS) in the current documents. Each MOU and resolution is proposed to be modified to update the language to “PEHP” instead of “RHS”, and to modify the choices regarding excess annual leave to be compliant with current regulations.
After discussions with Human Resources regarding compliance issues, each labor group then made its own decision regarding whether to use the PEHP as the default choice for cashing out excess annual leave, as the choice must be mandatory for all members of the group. The represented groups have each determined to use options other than the PEHP for excess annual leave; the consensus of the Executive, Management, and Confidential groups was to use the PEHP for excess annual leave. The resolutions and side letters reflect these variations in choice by group.
Meal Breaks: The proposed side letters with CUEA and CPSEA correct the lists of classifications that receive paid meal breaks.
All of these changes are to ensure regulatory compliance and clarity; they do not provide any new or additional benefits for any City employees.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no cost to the City as a result of these actions, as there are no changes to salaries or benefits being proposed.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the action is not subject to CEQA. This approves the side letters to the memorandums of understanding with the Corona Public Service Employees Association, Corona Police Employees Association, Corona Police Supervisors Association, and Corona Utilities Employee Association, as well as Resolutions for the Management, Confidential, and Executive Groups, and there is no possibility that the approval of these items will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: LORI SASSOON, CHIEF TALENT OFFICER
REVIEWED BY: JUSTIN TUCKER, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 - Side Letter to the Corona Public Service Employees Association Memorandum of Understanding
2. Exhibit 2 - Side Letter to the Corona Supervisors Association Memorandum of Understanding
3. Exhibit 3 - Side Letter to the Corona Firefighters Association Memorandum of Understanding
4. Exhibit 4 - Side Letter to the Corona Police Employees Association and Corona Police Supervisors Association Memoranda of Understanding
5. Exhibit 5 - Letter of Agreement with the Corona Utilities Employees Association
6. Exhibit 6 - Resolution 2025-108, amending Resolution 2024-116 governing compensation and benefits of non-represented Confidential Group employees
7. Exhibit 7 - Resolution 2025-107, amending Resolution 2024-115 governing compensation and benefits of non-represented Management Group employees
8. Exhibit 8 - Resolution 2025-109, amending Resolution 2025-118 governing compensation and benefits of non-represented Executive Group employees