City to vote on $6.5M bond for PBA contract

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A spokesman for Moody’s, Dave Jacobson, said the agency would not comment on the proposed bond measure until after the council makes a decision.

“I think it’s a little too early to tell, because they haven’t voted on it yet,” Jacobson said. “We’d prefer to wait on whether they determine to issue new debt, and then they would ask us to review it.”

The arbitrator’s award

The award approved includes a 3.75 percent increase for the first three years, a 3.5 increase for 2011 and 2 percent raises for each of three following years, as well an additional longevity increase based on years of service.

City officials said that the award provides approximately $2.8 million in savings through fiscal 2014, and the city would see an estimated $835,000 in savings in the current fiscal year. Officials also said that the city would save approximately $1 million in salary payments based on the county average, and the award reduces termination pay by 16.6 percent, saving the city approximately $850,000 on current employees. The award also eliminates health care co-pay reimbursements, generating a cost savings of approximately $26,000 a year.

Though city officials acknowledged the savings, at the time, City Council President Scott Mandel said that the savings did not go far enough, and criticized the previous administration for rejecting the 2010 deal. “Unfortunately, the previous administration’s rampant fiscal mismanagement and many years of failure to negotiate with the PBA left us with a difficult and costly situation. While our cops on the street continue to do a great job, we are disappointed by the arbitrator’s decision based on the fiscal challenges our city and residents are facing.”

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