Tentative Agreement Between Sacramento, Fire Union Would Save 44 Jobs

Pensions have suddenly become a cure to much of Sacramento's budget woes.

With a tentative agreement reached Tuesday between city officials and the firefighters union, most of the city's $15.7 million deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1 has been addressed through increased employee pension contributions.

If ratified by the union's members in the coming days, the deal with Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 would save 44 firefighter jobs.

Full details of the accord were not released, but council members and union leaders said it revolved around increased pension contributions made by firefighters.

That agreement follows similar deals reached with two other unions in the past week that will shave several million dollars from the budget gap. One of those deals -- reached with a new union representing midlevel managers and support staff at City Hall -- has already been ratified.

Top city officials, including department heads and other managers not represented by unions, have also agreed to make their full employee pension contributions.

"It's hard to envision how we can allow any group of employees to have a different situation, where the city continues to pay their employee share," said Councilman Steve Cohn.

That remains the situation with city police officers.

In what city officials hope will be nothing more than a symbolic measure, the City Council voted 8-1 Tuesday to approve a citywide budget that will result in 19 police officers being laid off at the end of the month after labor negotiators failed to reach a deal with the police union over pensions.

Talks are continuing with the Sacramento Police Officers Association, but those familiar with the negotiations have expressed little optimism that an accord will be reached before the end of the fiscal year.

Police officers do not pay any part of their pensions. City officials are looking for those officers to pick up a 9 percent employee contribution.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby was the lone vote against the budget, arguing that the council should maintain a front-line role in negotiations with the police union over the next two weeks. Ashby said she was "all for working hard on these partnerships and working toward pension reform," but that she wants to "try to use every minute we have left on the clock."

Mayor Kevin Johnson, an ally of the police union and one of three members of the City Council to vote against laying off dozens of officers last year, voted in favor of the budget proposal Tuesday, but stated his opposition to the police cuts.

Earlier in the day, the mayor urged police officers to make concessions on their pension contributions.

"I'm typically not in favor of making cuts to police and fire, but we are in a very difficult situation because if we can't get pension reform, we are going to have to make some cuts," the mayor said.

Since running for office in 2008, Johnson has said he wants two police officers for every 1,000 city residents. If the proposed cuts go through, that ratio would be around 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents -- among the lowest ratios of any big city in the nation.

"I'd like to inch up toward the two per 1,000, and we need a very aggressive strategy," the mayor said. "But right now in a down economy, we just have to stop the bleeding at this point."

Dustin Smith, acting president of the police union, said previous cutbacks to the Police Department have shown "we've given as much as we can as a department. I don't know what else we can give."

Firefighters had already agreed to contribute 6 percent of their salaries toward their pensions beginning in January. City Manager John Shirey had asked that firefighters contribute a full 9 percent employee share.

"We're behind pension reform; we're willing to help," said Chris Andrew, fire union official. But, he added, "the Fire Department is barely getting by right now" after years of cutbacks.

Several council members have said pension concessions from the public safety unions would help persuade city residents to approve a sales tax increase through a November ballot measure. The council is expected to draft that ballot measure next month.

"These efforts today put us in a better space to have that dialogue," said Councilman Kevin McCarty.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service