8F
Date: May 20, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Aram Chaparyan, City Manager
By: Jamie Le, Assistant to the City Manager | [email protected] Subject: City Manager – Approve Side Letter Agreements Between Torrance Police Commanders Association (TPCA) and Management Regarding Overtime Assignments. Expenditure: Approximately $59,603 (General Fund).
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation of the City Manager that City Council approve side letter agreements between the Torrance Police Commanders Association (TPCA) and Management, in the amount of approximately $59,603, modifying overtime assignments.
FUNDING
Funding is available in the fiscal year 2024-25 Police Department’s Operating Budget and is expected to be available in subsequent years.
DISCUSSION
In previous years, Management and the various employee groups have produced "side letter'' agreements to address issues that come up in between contract negotiations. A side letter is an agreement between an employer and union that typically: (1) modifies, clarifies or interprets an existing provision in an MOU; or (2) addresses issues of interest to the parties that are not otherwise covered by the MOU.
In a recent PERS audit, however, it was discovered that such agreements need to be approved by City Council in open session. This is particularly important if the side letter agreement pertains to potential PERSable income (i.e. salary adjustment) and Premiums. As such, Staff requests the formal approval by City Council of a side letter agreement between the Torrance Police Commanders Association (TPCA) and Management memorializing Overtime Assignments.
ATTACHMENT
1. Side Letter Agreement - TPCA Overtime Assignments
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5 May 20, 2025
TO:Rebecca Poirier, City Clerk
FROM:Jamie Le, Assistant to the City Manager
RE: MANAGEMENT and TORRANCE POLICE COMMANDERS’ ASSOCIATION (TPCA) JOINT LETTER OF AGREEMENT REGARDING OVERTIME
ASSIGNMENTS
Management and Torrance Police Commanders Association met and have reached an agreement as noted on the attached document. Section 14.8.14.b of the Torrance Municipal Code reads:
“If an agreement is reached by management and a recognized employee organization or recognized employee organization, on matters subject to approval by the City Council, they shall jointly prepare a written and signed memorandum of such understanding and present it to the City Council for determination. If an agreement is reached on matters not subject to approval by the City Council, those conferring shall jointly prepare a written and signed memorandum of such agreement which shall be filed with the City Clerk.”
Pursuant to the last sentence of the above paragraph, the City Manager’s Office is filing the attached agreement with your office.
Management Torrance Police Commanders Association
(TPCA)
/s/ Jeremiah Hart
_____________________________________
/s/ Daniel Moreno
_____________________________________
/s/ Jamie Le
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ 2 3
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5 Joint Agreement between the City of Torrance and TPCA TPCA and representatives of Management (“City”) have met and conferred regarding Overtime Assignments. This agreement is in addition to Resolution 2024-08 and does not replace provisions of the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). TPCA and City hereby agree to Overtime Assignments as follows:
OVERTIME ASSIGNMENTS
Lieutenants shall be compensated by pay at the rate of 1.5 times the employee's regular hourly rate, based on a 40-hour work week schedule, for overtime hours worked in excess of a regularly scheduled assignment, or on a regularly scheduled day off. a) Overtime shall be computed for actual time worked during scheduled overtime and hold over shifts for qualifying assignments.
b) Qualifying assignments shall consist of the following:
a. Detective Division
b. Traffic Division
c. SWAT Team
d. CNT (Tactical Negotiations)
e. South Bay Platoon
f. PIO/Chief’s Adjutant
g. Professional Standards Division
h. Special Investigations Division
c) Overtime assignments not listed in subsection B, must receive approval from the Chief or the Chief’s designee.
The modifications described above are effective May18, 2025 Signed this 20th day of May 2025
Management Torrance Police Commanders Association
(TPCA)
Jeremiah Hart
Police Chief
Daniel Moreno
President
Jamie Le
Assistant to the City Manager
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