City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 10, 2025
Agenda Item: 4.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Dana Brown, Human Resources Director, Human Resources Department Subject: Adoption of a Resolution Accepting the Tentative Agreements and Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Memoranda of Understanding with the Fire Executive Management Association (FEMA), Public Attorneys' Legal Support Staff Union (PALSSU), and Public Attorneys Union (PAU), and Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Revised Confidential Unrepresented Employees (CUE) Pay Plan and a Revised Executive Pay Plan (EPP).
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15324 (Class 24 Regulations of Working Conditions) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Adopt the proposed Resolution (Attachment A) accepting the Tentative Agreements (TA) and authorizing the City Manager to execute Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with the Fire Executive Management Association (FEMA), Public Attorneys' Legal Support Staff Union (PALSSU), and Public Attorneys Union (PAU), and authorizing the City Manager to execute a revised Confidential Unrepresented Employees (CUE) Pay Plan and a revised Executive Pay Plan (EPP);
3. Adopt the salary schedule (Attachment B); and
4. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions section of this report.
Summary
In February 2025, the City Council instructed the city’s labor negotiators to engage in labor negotiations with its recognized employee bargaining units in accordance with the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) as each unit’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is set to expire on June 30, 2025. Negotiations were conducted in good faith over the past several months between designated city representatives and 2 of 5
representatives of each of the bargaining units. Negotiations between the city and FEMA, PALSU, and PAU have resulted in tentative agreements (TA) regarding successor MOU agreements with each bargaining unit. All groups finalized the ratification voting process approving the terms of their respective TA.
The city has also modified the pay plans for the city’s non-represented employees.
These modifications are consistent with the universal bargaining instructions given for represented employees. The updated terms for the EPP, which includes department directors and other executive-level employees, and the CUE which includes confidential unrepresented employees are detailed below. City staff recommend that the Council approve the ratified TAs to enter into successor MOUs between the City and these bargaining units as well as accept the changes to the updated pay plans.
Discussion
Under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) in California, local public agencies negotiate with exclusively recognized employee organizations on wages, hours, and working conditions. The City currently has approved TAs with three bargaining units and is still in negotiations with eight other employee organizations (often referred to as bargaining groups or unions) whose contracts with the City expire on June 30, 2025.
These TAs reflect a collaborative effort to balance fair compensation for employees with the City’s fiscal responsibility and long-term sustainability.
The main substantive terms in each TA are outlined below:
Fire Executive Management Association (FEMA)
The FEMA represents the Deputy Fire Chief classification within the Fire Department which is currently two employees. In order to address recruitment and retention into this management classification, adequate salary differential must be maintained as members of this unit are not eligible for FLSA overtime. The TA includes agreement for an equity adjustment to provide the proper differential and language to maintain it.
Likewise, the agreement provides for maintaining the current parity for supplemental benefits including uniform allowance, health insurance and deferred compensation. • Term of Agreement: July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030 3 of 5
• Cost of Living Adjustments: 2% cost of living adjustment effective July 1st of each year of the contract term
• 5.57% equity adjustment effective July 1, 2025
• Add Longevity pay of 10% for 20 years of service with a reopener on July 1, 2026, to continue to discuss longevity pay
• Reinstate Sick Leave Cashout program with a Side Letter for a one-time retroactive payment for the previous 2 years (2022-2024) of sick leave based on the original program criteria
• Add Veteran’s Day as paid holiday
• One-time bonus of $1000 effective July 1, 2025
• Ability to cash out 25% of Sick Leave upon retirement Public Attorneys' Legal Support Staff Union (PALSSU)
The PALSSU represents 18 exempt and non-exempt legal support staff in the City Attorney’s Office.
• Term of Agreement: July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030 • Cost of Living Adjustments: 2% effective July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026; 3% effective July 1, 2027; 4% effective July 1, 2028, and July 1, 2029 • Suspension of compensation study language for term of agreement • $23.08 bi-weekly notary license bonus
• Addition of three non-cashable MOU/Personal days
• Add Veteran’s Day as paid holiday
• One-time bonus of $1000 effective July 1, 2025
• Ability to cash out 25% of Sick Leave Upon Retirement Public Attorneys Union (PAU)
The PAU represents 25 exempt attorneys in the City Attorney’s Office. • Term of Agreement: July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030 • Cost of Living Adjustments: 2% effective July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026; 3% effective July 1, 2027; 4% effective July 1, 2028, and July 1, 2029 • Provide 90 days’ notice for layoffs
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• Add severance provision of three months
• Non-Cashable Leave - Add three days effective July 1, 2025; add one day effective July 1, 2026, add one day effective July 1, 2027 • Add Veteran’s Day as paid holiday
• Ability to cash out 25% of Sick Leave Upon Retirement Confidential Unrepresented Employees (CUE) Pay Plan
The CUE is comprised of 28 exempt and non-exempt staff in the Human Resources and Finance departments.
• Cost of Living Adjustments: 2% effective July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026; 3% effective July 1, 2027; 4% effective July 1, 2028, and July 1, 2029 • Addition of two non-cashable Personal days
• Add Veteran’s Day as paid holiday
• One-time bonus of $1000 effective July 1, 2025
• Ability to cash out 25% of Sick Leave Upon Retirement Executive Pay Plan (EPP)
The EPP is comprised of 19 exempt executive management staff in various departments.
• Cost of Living Adjustments: 2% effective July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026; 3% effective July 1, 2027; 4% effective July 1, 2028, and July 1, 2029 • Addition of two non-cashable Personal days
• Add Veteran’s Day as paid holiday
• One-time bonus of $1000 effective July 1, 2025
• Ability to cash out 25% of Sick Leave Upon Retirement Environmental Review
The changes to staff wages are categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15324 (Class 24 Regulations of Working Conditions) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. Class 24 consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies to regulate employee wages, hours of work, or working conditions where there will be no demonstrable physical changes outside the place of work.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The total cost of the negotiated changes contained in the tentative agreements presented in this report is approximately $724,289 for FY 2025-26. The budget impact of these changes was included in the FY 2025-26 through FY 2029-30 Five-Year Financial Forecast for the General Fund. If the changes are approved, staff will appropriate the FY 2025-26 changes in Non-Departmental for the General Fund and all other funds as listed in the table below. The funds will be transferred to the relevant funds and department accounts along with the FY 2025-26 Midyear Budget.
If the 1109 agreement requires additional changes to the FEMA costs to maintain the negotiated 20% salary differential and specified supplemental benefits parity, staff will incorporate those changes when the 1109 agreement is brought forward.
Fund # Fund Name FY 2025-26 Total
01 General Fund $ 716,314
60 Big Blue Bus Fund $ 7,975
Total all funds $ 724,289
Prepared By: Doris Mejia, Senior Human Resources Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. ATTACHMENT A_Resolution_6.10.2025
B. ATTACHMENT B_Salary Schedule_6.10.2025