16 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Costa Mesa inks 1-year deal with employee labor groups for $3.5M, citing uncertainty
The Costa Mesa City Council this week approved tentative agreements with its four employee unions, brokering $3.5 million in salary and benefit increases over just a one-year period, due to an uncertain fiscal future both locally and nationally.
But one resident and budget hawk warned officials that what is agreed upon this year is sure to be assumed in the years ahead, potentially compounding the cumulative impact to city coffers.
Human Resources Manager Kasama Lee told the council during a regular meeting Tuesday city staff had successfully reached agreements after negotiating a $1.9 million deal with employees of the city's police force, represented by the Costa Mesa Police Assn. (CMPA) and the Costa Mesa Police Managers Assn. (CMPMA).
Memorandums of understanding were also reached with the Costa Mesa City Employees Assn. (CMCEA) and administrative workers represented in a confidential unit, totaling nearly $1.6 million. All employee groups' prior contracts were set to expire June 30.
Employees of the Costa Mesa Police Department, which comprises 130 officers under CMPA and another nine upper-level managers, will receive 4% salary increases beginning July 1, along with a $300 hike in monthly health benefits.
Police staff will also receive an additional 2.5% add-on to pre-existing longevity bonus calculations, meaning those who reach their 25-year anniversary will receive 12.5% of their base salary in incentive pay, while those hitting the 20-year mark will get 10%; awards of 7.5% and 5% will be given for employees reaching 15 and 10 years of service, respectively.
As an added benefit under the new agreement, CMPD lieutenants will no longer receive holiday pay but will earn additional bonuses, ranging from 5% to 15%, for various Police Officer Standards and Training certification. Captains with the certification will receive 15%, the contract stipulates.
Meanwhile, nearly 330 non-police city employees will see bumps in pay and benefits under the agreements approved Tuesday, including an additional $50 per month in health benefits starting in July and $100 increase, effective January 1, 2026.
After an initial 2% salary increase, slated to take effect July 1, staff members will see another 2% raise in January and then again in April.
The $3.5 million in provisions have been earmarked in Costa Mesa's 2025-26 budget, adopted earlier this month . Lee estimated the agreements would impact next year's budget by an additional $1.5 million.
Ralph Taboada, a Costa Mesa resident and member of the city's Finance & Pension Advisory Committee, said Lee's estimation was misleading, since the $1.5-million impact would be compounded on top of this year's $3.5-million increase.
He further warned that while the benefits conveyed are only offered for a one-year term, they will likely become a stepping stone to greater benefits, at an even greater cost, in future years.
'A year from now, when subsequent agreements are negotiated, they'll be utilizing the salary and benefits in these contracts for new [ones]. So this $3.5-million impact for 2025-26 is going to carry forward beyond 2025-26.'
Mayor Pro Tem Manuel Chavez, making a motion to approve the bargained-for changes, explained the one-year term would allow the city to see how economic changes on the horizon, including declining revenue projections and promised international tariffs at the federal level, might play out.
'I think all parties agree a one-year deal was a good bet to see how everything would turn out these next couple of months,' Chavez said.
Mayor John Stephens agreed, recalling contentious periods at bargaining tables of yore, when the city was embroiled in legal battles with labor groups over the outsourcing of some public roles and services.
'We're in a good place with our relationship with our bargaining units — we cannot take that for granted, because it hasn't always been that way,' he said.
'It's a good deal under the circumstances, uncertain circumstances, where we know we're going to need those police officers to keep us safe and we're going to need CMCEA non-safety employees to back them up.'
