BREAKING NEWS: Antioch Council to vote on staff pay raises, eliminating Furlough Fridays at Thursday meeting
Police Status Report, card room license also on agenda
By Allen Payton
This week’s Antioch City Council meeting will be held on Thursday, November 13, instead of the regular second Tuesday of the month, due to the Veterans Day holiday.
On the agenda’s Consent Calendar, under items G. and H., the council is being asked to eliminate Furlough Fridays, for both the Management Bargaining Unit and Confidential Employees Unit. Furlough Fridays was implemented in 2011 and included a 10% pay cut and a 10% reduction in work hours from 40 hours, or five, eight-hour days to 36 hours or four, nine-hour days. Elimination of it for all affected city staff is estimated to cost $800,000 for the first 18 months, then that same amount per year, following, according to a staff report presented at the September 23rd council meeting. The action will increase salaries by 10%. Another 3% pay raise is included. All of them will be effective January 11, 2015, if approved.
According to the staff report, for the Management Bargaining Unit, “The fiscal impacts of the COLA salary adjustment, returning to a 40 hour work week, and reinstating the deferred compensation contribution is $507,297” for the Management Bargaining Unit and “$124,570” for the Confidential Employees. Of those amounts, $327,480 and $114,160, respectively for a total of $441,640 per year will be spent out of the General Fund. That’s equal to the cost of about four police officers.
The staff report states that “This action was required based on the ‘trigger’ language found in the January 11, 2011 Tentative Agreement of General Fund revenues (excluding new revenues, such as Measure C) reaching $38.4 million with the reserve maintained at 10%.”
The tentative agreement also eliminates the second “trigger” of requiring General Fund revenues at $42.3 million and a 12% reserve, in order to reinstate the “previously negotiated but not implemented the COLA salary adjustments” which is the 3% pay raise.
However, the report also states that the original agreement that included the Furlough Fridays, expired on September 30, 2013 and that “Representatives of the City and Management Unit have been meeting and conferring in good faith to negotiate a successor agreement.”
Regarding the Confidential Employees Unit, the report states that their agreement also expired on September 30, 2013 and “On June 10, 2014 Council adopted a resolution approving a Benefit Document for the period of October 1, 2013 – September 30, 2015.”
The report further states that representatives of the city and Confidential Unit met and negotiated a tentative agreement to amend the existing agreement, which includes the same three major items as the Management Unit agreement.
The staff report is dated November 3, the day before the election, but the agenda wasn’t released until Thursday, November 6.
City Manager Steve Duran “Well, actually on the current management contract, it has a financial trigger, that we hit when the assessments came through, higher than budgeted.”
When asked about the fact the agreements had already expired, he responded, “But, labor agreements aren’t like a lease and must stay in place until you replace it.”
When asked why do this now, instead of waiting until Lori Ogorchock, who was elected with the most votes in last Tuesday’s election was seated on the Council, he said “The Council said this is what they’re going to do. They promised this is what they would do, when the revenues increased. There are five council members and the four who are on there, now have voted to do this” at the September 23rd Council meeting. He said the council had given previous direction on this, earlier this year, as well.
“We take our direction from three or more votes from what happens in a public meeting,” Duran added. “A new boss has been elected and we’ll have to get to know her” he said regarding Ogorchock.
When asked why the agenda items were on the Consent Calendar, he said, “We don’t anticipate a lot of discussion, since the council already voted to do this. But anyone can request an item be removed from the Consent Calendar for questions and comments.”
Mayor Harper was contacted for this story, but was at the new police oath of office ceremony at the time and could not be reached before publication.
A voicemail message was also left for Mayor Pro Tem Mary Rocha, but also could not be reached for comment.
However, a frustrated Ogorchock shared her thoughts.
“They know I’m against this and it’s sad they didn’t wait until I was on the council,” she said. “They think it’s all fine and dandy to put everyone back to work. We aren’t there, yet. We must use those funds, instead to hire more police officers.”
“We’ve experienced five horrific crimes, including four shootings and two murders, and an armed robbery in one week,” Ogorchock stated. “I want the rest of the city staff to go back to work full-time, too. But we don’t have the budget for it, yet. Our main concern should be for the safety of our city and the citizens. That’s where our money should go.”
“I hope the city council does the right thing,” she added. “This is a tentative agreement and doesn’t need to be approved, right now.”
Also on the agenda, Chief Allan Cantando will be providing the 2014 Third Quarter Police Status Report toward the beginning of the meeting.
In addition, at the council’s direction, staff has included a report and resolution for issuing a Local Card Room License to the application period to Anthony Keslinke who has wanted to reopen the card room at Kelly’s restaurant at 408 O Street. Approval would allow him until November, 2016 to obtain a state license for that location.
To view the complete meeting agenda, click here 111314 or on the city’s website, here. To see the staff report for each item, click on “Staff Report”.
Antioch City meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 200 H Street in downtown or can be viewed by live stream on the city’s website at http://www.ci.antioch.ca.us/CityGov/citycouncilmeetings.htm.
the attachments to this post:
111314
111314
I agree with Lori Ogorchock. It would be nice to have the employees back to work on Friday’s, but I would like to see them wait until some of the money from Measure O comes in. We are still in the process of hiring more police officers and I am hoping that more Code Enforcementt officers are being planned too. I believe that if some of these blighted homes were taken care of that maybe some of the crime would leave too.
my vote would have been…NO
I am getting some real heartburn from this action. Correct me if I am wrong, this was agree to be put on the agenda PRIOR to knowing the Measure O results? Before knowing our potential solvency?
There are other ways of getting 5 day week coverage. Maybe not 40 hour work weeks, but coverage at least.
No, I’m sorry, this smells like day old chicken in the trash
You are correct. This was packaged, presented, and basically approved by all parties involved prior to knowing what the outcome would be of Measure O. It was part of management strategy. Confidential already had a contract in place that didn’t have then back at 40 hours nor a 3% raise.
I seriously have some real issues with this City Council. Their top priorities have been feral cats, downtown condos and a dilapidated restaurant AND with some luck an occasion mention of crime and violence when they want to publish indisputably incorrect information.
Top priority should be Crime and violence.
It is the same with the Measure O funds. Haven’t got any but lets spend it and if anything is left over save that toward the 2017 pending bankruptcy. Again, prioritize. Put whatever aside to stop a bankruptcy and then make necessary expenditures.
Is this an overt attempt to rush this through prior to getting Ms. Ogorchock on board?
“Is this an overt attempt to rush this through prior to getting Ms. Ogorchock on board,” you ask.
Yes it is.
This is a very bad move as I have stated previously on this website. We need to get our head out of the sand and above water before we take this move. Shift people around for full coverage 5 days a week is very easy to do.
They have deliberately put this on the agenda to get it though quickly and NOT have Lori on the new council. Typical move this time of year!
City Manager Steve Duran’s salary will go from $207,000 to $230,000
when city furloughs are discontinued. He’s eager for the City Council to push this through. He lives in Dublin where it’s more expensive and he needs the money.
I voted NO on measure “O”.
Not because I didn’t agree with the reasoning but because I lacked confidence in our elected officials to properly manage the funds.
Amazing we pay city employees over three times the median Antioch income and they don’t have to live here.
You can’t make this stuff up. We should change the city name to Gotham.
Well the voters did not take care of business ,
I seriously don’t know what else has to happens
Until “we the people” learn from our mistakes .
But there is a great chance in 2016 to replace
3 of them.