The San Marino City Council unanimously approved a new memorandum of understanding, or MOU, with the San Marino Firefighters Association last Friday.
The city’s human resources consultant, Teri Nelson, negotiated the new contract over the last three months. The previous contract had expired in 2015, but extended by one year into 2016.
Under the new three-year agreement, which retroactively took effect on June 26, 2016, salaries were adjusted “to bring positions within the 55th percentile.”
Those adjusted salaries translate into a three percent increase for firefighter/paramedics, a one percent increase for engineers, and four percent increase for captains in the current fiscal year.
The net effect on the budget for the current fiscal year will be $119,981.
In the next two fiscal years, firefighter/paramedics and engineers will receive two percent increases, and captains will again see four percent increases.
The fiscal impact on the city’s budget for these two fiscal years will be $64,978 and $66,683, respectively.
City officials also agreed to increase the monthly allocation for the purchase of healthcare benefits from $1,000 per month to $1,200 per month for firefighter/paramedics and engineers.
In accordance with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Danny Flores v. City of San Gabriel, the City of San Marino included pay out unused health benefits in the regular rate of pay and the calculation of overtime, starting retroactively from June 28, 2015.
A reopener has been included to enable updates to the City’s personnel rules and regulation.
Additionally, in the new MOU, the city maintained the Fire Chief and City Manager’s discretion to determine whether to staff the fire engine with four or three personnel.
Budget Follow-Up
City of San Marino staff provided written answers to the San Marino City Council regarding 14 questions that were asked by council at its May 12 budget workshop and required some additional research.
The 14 questions covered a wide range of issues from firefighter overtime pay and police department staffing levels to Public Employee Retirement System employer contributions and the growth of the city’s reserves.
To view the staff’s answers, see below.
