8G
Date: January 13, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Aram Chaparyan, City Manager
By: Jamie Le, Assistant to the City Manager I [email protected] Subject: City Manager – Approve Side Letter Agreements Between TME-AFSCME Local 1117 (TME-AFSCME) and Management and Torrance Professional and Supervisory Association (TPSA) and Management. Expenditure: Approximately $637,980 Annually (General Fund).
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation of the City Manager that City Council:
1. Approve a side letter agreement between the Torrance Municipal Employees-AFSCME Local 1117 (TME-AFSCME) and Management to implement General Services Storekeepers and Welders 4-10 Schedule; and
2. Approve a side letter agreement between Torrance Professional and Supervisory Association (TPSA) and Management regarding new IT Department classifications; and
3. Approve a side letter agreement between Torrance Professional and Supervisory Association (TPSA) and Management regarding the Torrance Police Department Enhanced Recruitment and Incentive Program.
FUNDING
Funding is available in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 General Fund operating budget and is anticipated 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 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); or (2) addresses issues of interest to the parties that are not otherwise covered by the MOU. These agreements need to be approved by City Council in open session. This is particularly important if the side letter agreement pertains to income subject to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s (CalPERS) reporting requirements, such as salary adjustments and premiums. As such, staff requests formal approval by City Council memorializing the following:
1 City Council
January 13, 2026
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4 1. Side Letter Agreement between the Torrance Municipal Employees-AFSCME Local 1117 (TME-AFSCME) and Management to implement General Services Storekeepers and Welders 4-10 Schedule; and
2. Side Letter Agreement between Torrance Professional and Supervisory Association (TPSA) and Management assigning new IT Department classifications and salary grids to the bargaining unit; and
3. Side letter agreement between Torrance Professional and Supervisory Association (TPSA) and Management to include new IT Department classifications as eligible classifications for the Professional Employees Retention Bonus of the Torrance Police Department Enhanced Recruitment and Incentive Program.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Side Letter Agreement – Torrance Municipal Employees-AFSCME Local 1117 (TME-AFSCME) and Management (Materials Available)
2. Side Letter Agreement – Torrance Professional and Supervisory Association (TPSA) and Management (Materials Available)
Side Letter Agreement – Torrance Professional and Supervisory Association (TPSA) and Management (Materials Available)
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