May 26, 2026
Human Resources
DATE: May 26, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Nickie Mastay, Deputy City Manager
Sharrone Taylor, Director of Human Resources
Subject:
Side Letter with the Richmond Fire Management
Association Regarding Special Compensation Practices
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact on receiving this item.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City Council is being asked to approve a Side Letter Agreement between the City of Richmond and the
Richmond Fire Management Association to clarify the
reporting of special compensation to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and to
change the payment frequency of holiday in-lieu pay.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution executing a Side Letter with the
Richmond Fire Management Association (RFMA)
regarding special compensation of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System – Human Resources
(Nickie Mastay/Sharrone Taylor 510-620-6602).
DISCUSSION:
The City of Richmond (City) and the Richmond Fire Management Association (RFMA) have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that sets forth the terms and conditions of employment for employees represented by the RFMA. The parties executed an MOU AGENDA
REPORT
May 26, 2026
covering the term of July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025. The 2022-2025 and previous MOUs have provided various special compensation items, including bilingual pay, longevity pay, training assignment pay, hazardous materials response pay, education incentive pay, holiday pay, and scheduled overtime that are reportable to CalPERS for pension purposes.
The City has been reviewing the rules governing the reporting of special compensation to CalPERS to ensure compliance with such rules.
The City met and conferred with the RFMA regarding a Side Letter to ensure compliance with CalPERS rules governing pensionable compensation. The parties are also changing the frequency at which holiday in lieu pay is paid from semi-annually to a per pay period basis on a go-forward basis. City Council approval is required to execute the Side Letter.
There is no fiscal impact because the Side Letter is clarifying existing practices regarding special compensation rate calculations and adjusting the pay frequency of holiday pay without increasing the pay.
NEXT STEPS:
City staff recommend approval of the resolution to execute the Side Letter between the City and RFMA regarding CalPERS special compensation practices.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution and Side Letter