REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Sunnyvale and the Public Safety Officers Association; Adopt a Resolution Amending the City's Salary Resolution to Update Certain Benefits and the Salary Schedule for Pay Plan Category C (Employees Represented by the Public Safety Officers Association); and Adopt a Resolution for Paying and Reporting the Value of Employer Paid Member Contributions to the California Public Employees' Retirement System for Employees of the Public Safety Officers Association
Report
BACKGROUND
A Tentative Agreement has been reached between the City of Sunnyvale (City) and the Public Safety Officers Association (PSOA) on a successor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). PSOA represents full-time non-management public safety employees. This report recommends approval of the MOU, which if approved by the City Council, will be in effect from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2027.
The MOU between the City and PSOA expired on December 31, 2024. Representatives for the City and PSOA began the meet and confer process in July 2024 and met 14 times to reach an agreement. A Tentative Agreement was reached on February 18, 2025, and the City was notified on March 3, 2025, that the PSOA membership ratified the Tentative Agreement.
EXISTING POLICY
Council Policy 7.3.1 Legislative Management - Goals and Policies, Goal 7.3D: Maintain a quality work force, consistent with state and federal laws, City Charter, and adopted policies in order to assure that City services are provided in an effective, efficient, and high-quality manner.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” with the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(4) in that is a fiscal activity that does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potential significant impact on the environment.
DISCUSSION
This round of negotiations with the Public Safety Officers Association (PSOA) focused on areas of mutual interest, including recruitment and retention, and to address pay elements in the salary survey that was not comparable to our comparator agencies. Some of the changes to the salary table pay rates are to address CalPERS reporting requirements, specifically related to education. In addition, the composition of the PSOA membership changed from a majority of Classic CalPERS employees to a majority of Public Employees' Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) members since the last contract was negotiated. The significant provisions of the new PSOA MOU are as follows:
Term
January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027. The agreement shall be extended for an additional year (through December 31, 2028) unless either party provides notice prior to the expiration of the agreement of their desire to open negotiations.
Salary Survey
Change the salary survey methodologies, effective with the next salary survey in July 2025. Major changes are:
• Eliminate a standalone survey for the Public Safety Lieutenant. Instead, Lieutenant’s base salary will be 20% above Public Safety Officer 2 (PSO-2).
• Salary survey for the PSO-2 will be based on a Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) member, who joined the CalPERS retirement system after January 1, 2013, with 12 years of experience.
• Survey items:
o Remove CalPERS Employer-Paid Member Contributions (EPMC), which is currently paid for Classic CalPERS members. This change is to align with the PSOA demographics; the majority of PSOA members are PEPRA employees ineligible for EPMC by law.
o Include additional compensation items, including education incentive, holiday, POST certifications, longevity, CalPERS member cost sharing contributions toward the agency rate, and employer’s contribution to deferred compensation. These changes capture the most typical compensation items offered by the survey agencies.
o Remove small value items from the survey, including uniform allowance, life insurance, etc. Although the City will continue to provide these benefits, they were considered de minimis for survey purposes.
Retirement
Eliminate the 6% EPMC for CalPERS Classic employees. Classic members will pay their full 9% member contribution effective July 2025. The attached resolution is required by CalPERS to complete this change.
Deferred Compensation
New benefit - City will contribute $100 per pay period to the deferred compensation plan of PSO-2 and Lieutenant members, effective the first pay period following Council approval of the agreement.
Health Contribution
Increase City’s contribution toward the City’s health insurance cafeteria plan to bring the total medical and cafeteria from $515 to $1,200 per month, effective the calendar month following Council approval of the agreement.
Medical Cash-in Lieu
Increase the incentive pay for waiving medical insurance with the City from up to $213.42 per month (varies based on coverage level), to $400 per month for all coverage levels, effective following Council approval of the agreement. In addition, eligibility for this program will be changed from legacy PSOA employees to include all PSOA employees.
Holiday Leave and In-Lieu Pay
The current MOU provides for holiday and floating holiday leave for non-shift schedule employees. Employees on shift or fire tour duty schedule receive 4.15 hours of pay in-lieu of holiday.
Effective following Council approval of the agreement, holiday and floating holiday leave will be eliminated, and holiday-in-lieu pay will apply to all employees, except Public Safety Officer-in-Training, Public Safety Officer Academy Attendee/Graduate, and Public Safety Officer 1-Trainee. The holiday-in-lieu pay will increase from 4.15 hours to 4.54 hours per pay period. The excluded trainee classifications continue to be eligible for holiday leave, but floating holiday leave will be eliminated.
The holiday-in-lieu pay will be replaced with a flat rate with the following schedule, which is roughly equivalent to 4.54 hours per pay period.
|
Effective |
PSO-1 or PSO-2 |
Lieutenant |
|
July 2025 |
$400 per pay period |
$500 per pay period |
|
July 2027 |
$425 per pay period |
$525 per pay period |
Bilingual Pay
Increase the bilingual pay for qualified employees from up to $85 per month (varies by proficiency level), to $200 per month for all proficiency levels, effective following Council approval of the agreement.
Canine Handler
Increase the overtime compensation for off-duty responsibilities of a police canine from $15 per hour to the City of Sunnyvale minimum wage, effective following Council approval of the agreement.
Education Incentive Program
Change the education incentive pay from 2.5% and 5% for bachelor’s degree and master’s degree/juris doctor respectively to the following.
Effective July 2025:
|
|
Bachelor’s Degree |
Master’s Degree/Juris Doctor |
|
PSO-2 |
$200 per pay period |
$375 per pay period |
|
Lieutenant |
$250 per pay period |
$450 per pay period |
Effective July 2027:
|
|
Bachelor’s Degree |
Master’s Degree/Juris Doctor |
|
PSO-2 |
$200 per pay period (no change) |
$400 per pay period |
|
Lieutenant |
$250 per pay period (no change) |
$500 per pay period |
Certification Pay - Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
Increase the POST pay from 1% to the following.
Effective July 2025:
|
|
Intermediate POST |
Advanced POST |
|
PSO-1 or PSO-2 |
$375 per pay period |
$750 per pay period |
|
Lieutenant |
$450 per pay period |
$900 per pay period |
Effective July 2027:
|
|
Intermediate POST |
Advanced POST |
|
PSO-1 or PSO-2 |
$400 per pay period |
$775 per pay period |
|
Lieutenant |
$475 per pay period |
$925 per pay period |
Career Incentive Program (Longevity Pay)
New benefit - Employees shall receive career incentive pay with the following years of service schedule.
Effective July 2025:
|
Years of Service |
PSO-1 or PSO-2 |
Lieutenant |
|
12 to 16 |
$225 per pay period |
$275 per pay period |
|
16 to 20 |
$350 per pay period |
$400 per pay period |
|
20 and more |
$450 per pay period |
$550 per pay period |
Effective July 2027:
|
Years of Service |
PSO-1 or PSO-2 |
Lieutenant |
|
12 to 16 |
$225 per pay period (no change) |
$300 per pay period |
|
16 to 20 |
$350 per pay period (no change) |
$425 per pay period |
|
20 and more |
$475 per pay period |
$575 per pay period |
Call Back Pay
Update the article that employees attending remote meetings or training are eligible for a minimum of 1 hour overtime pay instead of 2 hours when attending in person.
Staffing Study
New article requiring the City to issue an RFP prior to January 1, 2026, for an independent third party to conduct a staffing analysis for the Public Safety Department.
Peace Officers Research Association of California - Retiree Medical Trust (PORAC RMT)
New article stating that the City is amenable to PSOA joining the PORAC RMT. The Trust shall be funded with employee contributions only.
General Language clean up
Remove historical date-specific language, provide gender-neutral language, correct typos and grammatical issues, update with legislative changes, and clarify language.
FISCAL IMPACT
Employees represented by PSOA are funded by the General Fund. The adopted 2024/25 Budget includes assumptions for total compensation, but does not fully account for the impact of this successor MOU. As the majority of the changes in the successor MOU are not effective until July 1, 2025, the impact of the successor MOU for FY 2024/25 is estimated to be approximately $263,000, which can be absorbed within the City’s operating budget. The successor MOU increases General Fund costs by an estimated $2.4 million in FY 2025/26 and $70.7 million over twenty years over the PSOA salary and benefit costs that were projected in the FY 2024/25 Adopted Budget and Resource Allocation Plan. These impacts will be included with the FY 2025/26 Recommended Budget.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the City Hall reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Authorize the City Manager to execute the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Sunnyvale and the Public Safety Officers Association; Adopt a Resolution amending the City's Salary Resolution to update certain benefits and the Salary Schedule for Pay Plan Category C (Employees Represented by the Public Safety Officers Association); and Adopt a Resolution for paying and reporting the value of employer paid member contributions to the California Public Employees' Retirement System for employees of the Public Safety Officers Association.
2. Do not authorize the City Manager to execute the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Sunnyvale and the Public Safety Officers Association, and do not adopt the related resolutions.
3. Provide other direction to staff.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1: Authorize the City Manager to execute the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Sunnyvale and the Public Safety Officers Association; Adopt a Resolution amending the City's Salary to update certain benefits and the Salary Schedule for Pay Plan Category C (Employees Represented by the Public Safety Officers Association); and Adopt a Resolution for paying and reporting the value of employer paid member contributions to the California Public Employees' Retirement System for employees of the Public Safety Officers Association.
Levine Act
LEVINE ACT
The Levine Act (Gov. Code Section 84308) prohibits city officials from participating in certain decisions regarding licenses, permits, and other entitlements for use if the official has received a campaign contribution of more than $500 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the previous 12 months. The Levine Act is intended to prevent financial influence on decisions that affect specific, identifiable persons or participants. For more information see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html
An “X” in the checklist below indicates that the action being considered falls under a Levine Act category or exemption:
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use
___ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
___ Competitively bid contract*
_X_ Labor or personal employment contract
___ Contract under $50,000 or non-fiscal
___ Contract between public agencies
___ General policy and legislative actions
* "Competitively bid" means a contract that must be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
Staff
Prepared by: Vienne Choi, Principal Human Resources Analyst
Reviewed by: Tina Murphy, Director, Human Resources
Reviewed by: Matt Paulin, Director, Finance
Reviewed by: Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Tim Kirby, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Sunnyvale and the Public Safety Officers Association, 2025-2027 - redlined version
2. Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Sunnyvale and the Public Safety Officers Association, 2025-2027 - final version
3. Resolution Amending the City's Salary Resolution to Update Certain Benefits and the Salary Schedule for Pay Plan Category C (Employees Represented by the Public Safety Officers Association)
4. Resolution for Paying and Reporting the Value of Employer Paid Member Contributions to the California Public Employees' Retirement System for Employees of the Public Safety Officers Association