CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM NO. 24-1045
TO: Finance & Administration Committee DATE: January 29, 2025 DEPARTMENT: Administration Department
PREPARED BY: Juli Mortensen, Human Resources Manager
PRESENTER: Juli Mortensen, Human Resources Manager
AGENDA TITLE: 2025 Ordinance 672 Salary Survey
RECOMMENDATION
Receive the annual Ordinance 672 Salary Survey. Approval to bring forward the recommended salary adjustments to the full City Council on February 10, 2025, to be implemented retroactively to January 1, 2025.
BACKGROUND
Ordinance 672 establishes minimum standards of compensation, benefits, and salaries for members of the Police Department of the City of Fort Bragg. The purpose of the ordinance is to ensure the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City of Fort Bragg by retaining competent, qualified, trained, and experienced law enforcement employees. To reach this goal, Ordinance 672 helps to maintain compensation, salaries, and benefits that are competitive with other law enforcement agencies in the County of Mendocino of the State of California by requiring an annual salary survey to be conducted.
Specifically, Ordinance 672 requires the City of Fort Bragg to conduct a salary survey on an annual basis to determine the existing monthly salaries of each classification of like or comparable agencies or ranks (including experience, education, and training) of the Police Departments of the City of Willits, the City of Ukiah, and the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department. It states that the average of the salaries for each of the comparable grades or ranks of the members of the respective comparable agencies (City of Willits, City of Ukiah, and Mendocino County Sheriff) shall be the minimum salaries of the City of Fort Bragg Police Department for the respective comparable grades or ranks that is effective each January 1st.
The Fort Bragg City Council approves all salary schedules, which include all classification titles and compensation rates, that comply with the California Public Employees’ Retirement (CALPERS) System code requirement to have a publicly adopted and posted salary schedule. To allow the Fort Bragg City Council to make an informed decision, this agenda
item summary report (staff report) provides a summary of the survey methodology used for the completed salary survey.
The methodology used for this year’s survey follows what was done for the 2024 Ordinance 672 Annual Salary Study. The 2024 survey results were discussed during the labor negotiations between the City of Fort Bragg and the Fort Bragg Police Association.
To begin, Human Resources reached out to the City of Ukiah, the City of Willits, and the Mendocino County Sheriff to obtain their respective salary schedules, longevity pay, POST (Peace Officer Safety and Training) pay, Education Incentive, and Uniform Allowance.
These items were agreed upon during the negotiation process, and this methodology will be followed in future years.
Before discussing some challenges, defining some of the terms used in the survey and some historical information is helpful. PEPRA is a California Law that significantly altered how CalPERS calculates and applies retirement benefits for public employees hired on or after January 1, 2013. The change resulted in lower pension benefits for new CalPERS members due to changes in the calculation formula. Our Police Department personnel are predominately CalPERS Local Safety PEPRA (PEPRA stands for Public Employees' Pension Reform Act) rather than CalPERS Local Safety Classic. The Employer Paid Member Contribution (EMPC) does not apply to Local Safety PEPRA employees. Since the City’s law enforcement personnel are predominately PEPRA, the contribution rates shown in the survey reflect PEPRA rates.
The Mendocino County Sheriff employees participate in the Mendocino County Employees Retirement Association (MCERA), while the City of Fort Bragg employees are enrolled in CalPERS. To effectively compare each agency’s employer and employee contribution rates, it’s important to match the appropriate MCERA categories with the corresponding CalPERS categories:
MCERA Safety Three PEPRA: This category is equivalent to the CalPERS Local Safety PEPRA category.
MCERA General Tier 4: This category aligns with the CalPERS Miscellaneous PEPRA category.
By comparing these equivalent categories, you can better understand and analyze the contribution rates for each agency’s retirement programs.
As per above, some challenges were encountered during the information-gathering process.
One challenge was obtaining the “Normal Cost + EMPC” for the Mendocino County Sheriff.
CalPERS establishes an employer rate that a given agency must pay for each participating employee. The normal cost is an estimated percentage of salary based on the employee pool (age, salary, investment returns, etc.) and is determined by periodic actuarial valuations under state law. In the context of CalPERS and the MCERA valuations, "EMPC" stands for "Employer Paid Member Contribution." This refers to the portion of an employee's
CalPERS/MCERA pension contribution that is paid by their employer, essentially acting as a contribution on top of the standard employee contribution rate.
Human Resources contacted Mendocino County to obtain the MCERA employer and employee contributions and the Normal Cost + EMPC, as defined above. When doing so, the County provided the following contribution rates.
Safety 3 PEPRA EE contribution is 13.69%
Safety 3 PEPRA Employer contribution is 65.79%.
General Tier 4 for Community Services Officer is 9.13%. General Tier 4 Employer contribution for Community Services Officer is 33%.
A possible reason for the high MCERA employer contribution was that the County included their unfunded liability (UAAL). It is the amortized dollar amount needed to fund past service credit earned (or accrued) for members currently receiving benefits, active members, and members entitled to deferred benefits as of the valuation date. Human Resources referred to the Mendocino County Employees Retirement Association (MCERA) valuation reports based on that information. The 2022 valuations are being used for the survey because the actuarial valuations conducted by CalPERS and MCERA are typically used to set employer contribution rates for the fiscal year that begins one year after the valuation date, meaning the data from the 2022 valuation report determines the contribution rates.
Human Resources could not verify the validity of the County’s employer contribution rates.
As a result, the decision was made to use the numbers from the previous year’s survey for the employer and employee contribution rates.
The 2024 Ordinance 672 study did not include the Police Chief classification. In years before 2024, the salary of the Police Chief and Police Captain has been included in the annual survey because they are sworn peace officers and perform law enforcement tasks for the City. In a side letter dated November 8, 2024, the Police Chief and the City agreed that Chief Cervenka’s salary should be determined by the annual salary survey or by agreement.
As a result, the Police Chief classification is included in the salary survey.
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The following assumptions were made while conducting the survey:
Salary is based on 2080 hours in a year.
The base classification is used so the appropriate premium pay, such as POST can be applied.
POST pay is based on Advanced POST.
Education Incentive Pay is based on a Master’s Degree. Longevity is based on 20 years.
PERS is based on PEPRA.
Medical, dental, and vision are based on the most expensive plan at each agency at the Family Tier.
In addition to the above assumptions, a few items should be pointed out. The City of Ukiah’s Longevity Pay is a bit different than the other agencies as it is a one-time lump sum each year.
The City of Ukiah’s Police Association contract expires on September 18, 2025. The medical, dental, and vision for the cities of Willits and Ukiah are REMIF plans. HR reached out to the City of Willits on numerous occasions, but ultimately was unsuccessful in obtaining updated salary data. Due to this, the City of Willits data is based on the 2023-2024 salary schedule currently posted on their website. The City of Willits is currently negotiating with its Police Association, and it is unclear how soon an updated compensation schedule will be provided. The City of Fort Bragg, compensation schedule effective December 1, 2024, was used for the survey.
For the City of Willits, the top number from the March 2022 Chief of Police Recruitment Brochure was used for the Police Chief classification comparison.
The following page shows the results for each classification included in the survey: the Community Service Officer, Police Recruit, Police Sergeant, Police Captain, and Police Chief classifications.
Community Services Officer
Police Recruit
Police Officer
Police Sergeant
Special Investigator
Police Captain
Police Chief
Police Chief – Executive POST
Base Salary Comparison
Classifications Not Requiring Adjustment
During 2024, the Fort Bragg Police Association negotiated a 4% cost of living adjustment.
In addition, last year’s Ordinance 672 survey was completed much later than usual. As a result, the Ordinance 672 survey was incorporated into the 2024 labor discussions between the City and the Fort Bragg Police Association. Last year’s survey resulted in additional pay increases ranging from 7.79% for the Community Service Officer classification to 8.52% for the Police Officer classification. The Police Sergeant classification received an 8.12% increase. These classifications received, in total, between 11.79% and 12.52% increases during 2024. The impact of the above is shown in the results, which show that the Community Service Officer (CSO), Police Officer, and Police Sergeant classifications are above average. The Community Service Officer is 0.87%, the Police Officer is 12.30% above, and the Police Sergeant is 2.58%. Based on Ordinance 672 verbiage and looking at base salary only, these classifications do not require an adjustment.
We have three classifications: the Police Recruit, the Police Chief, and the Police Captain that should be discussed separately.
Police Recruit
In last year’s survey, the Police Recruit and Police Chief classifications were inadvertently omitted. The survey shows that the Police Recruit classification is –(13.39%) below the average of the other comparable agencies, suggesting that a salary adjustment is needed for this classification.
Police Chief
The Police Chief classification is below the average (-6.94%). A side letter dated November 8, 2024, states that the annual Ordinance 672 survey shall determine the Police Chief classification’s pay. The Police Chief is at the top step and did not receive a cost-of-living adjustment as the other Executive Management personnel received, as per the side letter.
Police Captain
The other position deserving a closer look is the Police Captain classification. This classification received a 12% pay increase due to last year’s salary survey results and another 2% cost of living increase due to the classification being part of the MidManagement employee group. These 2024 salary adjustments totaled 14.2%. Despite the significant pay increase in 2024, the Police Captain classification remains significantly below the average (-8.46%). It is recommended that a salary adjustment be made for the Police Captain classification.
Additional Classifications
The salary of the Special Investigator is determined by adding a five (5%) increase over the salary of the Police Officer. The Police Chief—Executive POST classification operates similarly and receives a five (5%) increase over the Police Chief classification. Due to the Police Chief classification showing below-average pay, it is recommended that the Police Chief – Executive POST classification receive a salary adjustment to preserve the 5% pay differential between the two classifications.
Special Pay Comparison
When Uniform Allowance, POST Pay, Education Incentive, and Longevity are included in the analysis, one classification balances out, and the rest show a significant shortfall compared to the other agencies.
When special pay is included, the Police Officer classification remains over the average, coming in at 8.88% over the average. Including special pay for all other classifications results in each classification being below average. It is important to note that the Police Captain is (-27.14%) below average, the Police Recruit is (-19.67%) below average, and the Police Chief is (-17.66%) below average. However, not all classifications are that far below average. When looking at the data, the Police Sergeant and Community Services Officer positions are much closer to the average. Specifically, the Community Services Officer is (-
3.71%) below average and the Police Sergeant is (-2.25%) below average.
Looking at these agencies from a total compensation perspective, the City of Fort Bragg is ranked third for the CSO, Police Recruit, Police Sergeant, and Police Captain classifications.
The City ranks second for the Police Officer classification. However, the Police Chief classification ranks fourth compared to the other agencies when total compensation is averaged out,
The analysis includes medical, dental, vision, and deferred compensation benefits. The City of Ukiah and the City of Willits offer the same plans, which are part of the Redwood Empire
Insurance Fund (REMIF) plan the City of Fort Bragg participates in. This allows for a better comparison. Mendocino County is not part of the REMIF plan, so it is more challenging to consider the plan's quality.
When one looks at how the City of Fort Bragg compares to comparable agencies, most classifications are below average, with some significantly below average. Specifically, the Police Captain, the Police Chief, and Police Recruit classifications are really below the average (-22.60%), (-16.89%), and (-13.12%), respectively. It is important to note that other classifications are much closer to the average, and one classification, Police Officer, is above average. The classifications that are still below average, but not to the degree of the aforementioned classifications, are the Community Services Officer classification, which is below the average at (-9.63%), and the Police Sergeant classification, which is below average at (-3.66%). The only above-average classification is the Police Officer classification at 8.88%. This would suggest that the City should consider researching what benefits to offer to law enforcement personnel to better attract and retain competent and qualified staff. This would help the City achieve Strategic Goal 6A: "Develop a retention plan that encourages long-term employment, advancement, and employee loyalty.” The language in Ordinance 672 does not explicitly state that Uniform Allowance, POST pay, Education Incentive Pay, and Longevity pay information be included in the survey. In past practice, the City has done the salary study strictly on base pay. However, knowing the entire compensation story helps provide a clear picture of the City of Fort Bragg's compensation for its law enforcement classifications for recruitment and retention purposes.
This analysis shows that the Community Service Officer (CSO), Police Officer, and Police Sergeant classifications have above-average base pay. Based on Ordinance 672 verbiage and looking at base salary only, these classifications do not require an adjustment.
However, the most below base pay classification is the Police Recruit classification, showing at (-13.39%) below average. The Police Captain classification at (-8.46%) is less significantly below the average of the comparable agencies. The final below-average classification for base pay is the Police Chief classification, which is closer to the average and comes in at (-
6.94%). Section 2 of Ordinance 672 requires the City to bring the salaries of law enforcement classifications to meet the average.
Overall, due to the significant increases the Fort Bragg Police Association bargaining unit received in 2024, none of the classifications, based on strictly base pay, require an adjustment in January 2025. The exception to this is the Police Recruit classification. As mentioned earlier, last year’s salary survey inadvertently omitted the Police Recruit classification. Therefore, Human Resources recommends the following pay adjustments, as shown in the following table, to be brought to the full City Council at the February 10, 2025 City Council meeting, to be effective retro to January 1, 2025.
Classification Pay Adjustment
Recommendation
Community Service Officer (CSO) 0%
Police Recruit 13.39%
Police Officer 0%
Police Sergeant 0%
Police Captain 8.46%
Police Chief 6.94%
Police Chief – Executive POST 6.94%**
Special Investigator 0%*
* The Special Investigator classification does not exist at the comparator agencies. This classification would receive five (5) percent above the Police Officer classification. ** The Police Chief – Executive POST classification is five (5%) over the Police Chief classification.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive the Annual Ordinance 672 Salary Survey.
Approval to bring forward the above recommended salary adjustments at the February 10, 2025, City Council meeting to be effective retroactive to January 1, 2025.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Provide direction on other recommendations.
Not authorizing the above recommendations for the January 13, 2025, City Council meeting. This action would result in the City not complying with Ordinance 672.
FISCAL IMPACT/FUNDING SOURCE
It is important to note when the City hires a Police Recruit, they typically are only in the classification when they attend the Police Academy, which is approximately six months in duration. Another important item is that Police Captain and Police Chief classifications are year-round positions. Lastly, the amount of the fiscal year calculation includes the Police Chief – Executive POST and not the Police Chief classification. The City would not have both classifications filled. Currently, the Police Chief – Executive POST has an incumbent.
Therefore, that is the classification used in calculating the impact on this year’s fiscal budget.
Since the salary adjustment recommendations will be effective retro to January 1, 2025, if approved by the full City Council, only January 1st to June 30th of FY 2024/25 needs to be accounted for. Based on the above assumptions, the base salary adjustment recommendations would increase this year’s fiscal budget by fiscal year budget by
$17,825.30. The funds would be from the current fiscal year’s budget, specifically 110-4200- 0101, Salaries & Wages, Regular.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
With respect to the applicability of the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.) (“CEQA”). It is determined that the approval of the above recommendations do not have the potential for creating a significant effect on the environment and is therefore exempt from further review under CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) because it is not a project as defined by the CEQA Guidelines Section 15378. Adoption of the above recommendations do not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
STRATEGIC PLAN/COUNCIL PRIORITIES/GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY This is in alignment with Strategic Goal 6A, which specifically states, “Conduct an external compensation review every three years to benchmark the City’s performance against other comparable organizations to remain competitive.” The salary survey also complies with City Ordinance 672.
ALTERNATIVES:
Provide direction for staff regarding the Committee’s recommendations. Not authorizing the above recommendations for the February 10, 2025, City Council meeting would delay the salary adjustments that would be retroactive to January 1, 2025. This action would result in the City possibly being not compliant with Ordinance 672 due and potentially violating Article 5.1 of the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Fort Bragg and the Fort Bragg Police Association, Effective July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2028. The section specifically states that “the salary adjustments, if any, shall be implemented as soon as possible after January 1 of each year, and before January 31 unless there is a discrepancy between the City and the FBPA relative to the survey results. In these instances, the discrepancy shall be resolved, and the salary adjustments shall be implemented no later than February 28.” While the classifications are not part of the FBPA, it has been the practice to adhere to the timeline mentioned in the FBPA MOU.
ATTACHMENTS:
Ordinance 672
FBPOA Comp Survey Nov2024 – Top Step Combined.pdf
Fort Bragg Police Association MOU Article 5.1
NOTIFICATION:
Jarod Frank, Fort Bragg Police Association President, [email protected] Shaun A. Du Fosee, Mastagni Holsted, [email protected] Lesley Bryant, Administrative Analyst Police, [email protected] Neil Cervenka, Police Chief – Executive POST, ncervenka @fortbragg.com Thomas O’Neal, Police Captain, [email protected]