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9.2. SR 02-22-1993 TO: SUBJECT: MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL ~ PAT KLAERS, CITY ADMINISTRA~~ FEBRUARY 19, 1993 1993 POLICE UNION NEGOTIATIONS FROM: DATE: It is now time to begin negotiations between the City and the Elk River Police Union for wages and benefits for the police officers for 1993-94. The past four Union contracts have been two year contracts, but due to the state of the economy and unexpected actions by the State Legislature, the City may now be in the situation where a one year contract is more appropriate. . Under ideal conditions, the Union contract is negotiated and completed before the calendar year begins. This was the case for the three contracts prior to the last agreement (1991-92). The last contract and this upcoming contract will not be approved until after the contract calendar year begins. This is a common occurrence for many metropolitan communities as the negotiation process is typically a very long, drawn out ordeal. Additionally, with the State Legislature consistently cutting City financial aids after municipal budgets have been approved, and with the current State Legislature talking about wage freezes, it is acceptable to not have the Police Union contract completed prior to the calendar year beginning. Another reason why the Elk River Police contracts in the 1980's were completed before the calendar year began, was because the negotiation process was very easy. The City desired to change its image of being a "police training ground" and the City offered wages and benefits to the Police Union employees that exceeded what was offered to the other non-union City employees. This was done in an effort to have the police officers base wages become more comparable to the metropolitan area. The City achieved this objective. The City Council's approach and philosophy with Union negotiations has been to "close the gap" between Elk River wages and the wages offered in the metropolitan area. The City has accomplished this on a base wage status, but not in a total wage and benefit package. The Elk River base wages for the police officers are within 3% of the metropolitan norm. . Today the Elk River wages and benefits are very comparable to what is offered in the metropolitan area with the exception of the longevity benefit. (The 1991-92 contract is attached for your reference). Last year problems developed over this longevity issue and negotiations became very personal and public (see attached articles). 720 Dodge Avenue N.W., Elk River, Minnesota 55330 (612) 441-7420 . . . During the last contract negotiations, the City Council said absolutely no to the longevity request, but did say yes to the concept of additional compensation in order for the total wage and benefit package of Elk River officers to be comparable to the metropolitan area. The Council said yes to the formation of a committee to develop a wage incentive plan. Plans of some type and variety are offered in some metropolitan cities in lieu of longevity and the two communities specifically discussed were Minnetonka and Apple Valley. Longevity is a payment to police officers simply based on length of service with the community. The Council found this approach completely unacceptable, but did favor some type of extra incentive in order for the package of wages and benefits in Elk River to be similar to the metropolitan area. After the contract was signed in the summer of 1992, the City Council authorized a formation of a Wage Incentive Program Committee. The Plan is now nearly complete. The Wage Incentive Program (WIP) Committee will meet on Monday, before the City Council meeting, to review some comments from our Labor Relations Consultant on the proposal. The Plan is proposed to be discussed by the City Council at the 2/22/93 Executive Session and a Police Union negotiations meeting is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 23, 1993. Only somewhat minor changes are foreseen in the Plan that will be recommended officially to the City Council (see the attached draft February 1993 WIP). It is now time for the City Council to review the WIP and to see if the current City Council has the same philosophy regarding longevity and the proposed WIP as the former City Council. The biggest issue in this contract negotiations will be if the City Council offers the WIP in lieu of longevity. It should be noted that even if something similar to the attached WIP is offered, the Union is sure to request some changes. The focus of this 2/22/93 City Council Executive Session should be a discussion on the WIP, along with the Council discussing other Union issues. Attached for your review is the Union request and an old memo from myself regarding past wages and benefits that have been approved by the City Council. At this meeting, it would be desirable to have the City Council formulate some guidelines on what is appropriate to offer the Police Union employees. Additionally, the City Council needs to review the concept of having a City Council representative attend the Police Union negotiations. If this is desired, but no one can attend the Tuesday, 2/23/93 meeting, then this meeting can be cancelled. Also, if the City Council cannot formulate any wage/benefits guidelines to present to the Union, or cannot reach a consensus on whether or not a WIP should be offered, then this 2/23/93 meeting should also be cancelled. If any Councilmembers have any questions regarding the attached material, please feel free to contact me.