(May 2, 2008) -- LB city management has negotiated and is proposing for voted City Council approval on May 6 a five year -- not the usual three year -- contract with the LB Firefighters Association.

Management indicates that if the Council approves the agreement, the Gen'l Fund taxpayer cost over five years will total approximately $11.5 million. Management says it expects the increased cost in FY 08 (current year) will be paid for in "budget savings"...but cites no additional source for funding the remainder of this continuing expenditure.

The contract appears on the same City Council agenda alongside a separate five year contract for the International Ass'n of Machinists (representing non-public safety city employees) (separate coverage, click here)...with a General Fund taxpayer cost over five years totaling $15 million proposed to be funded in the current years with "budget savings"...and no additional source for funding this expenditure cited in additional years. LBReport.com provides salient text from city management's agendized transmittal memo below.

As a result of an intensive data gathering effort conducted in conjunction with negotiations, it was determined that Long Beach Firefighters are the lowest compensated among comparable agencies in the region, despite the fact that Long Beach has some of the highest emergency call volumes and most highly trained Firefighters . All firefighter classifications surveyed ranked 11 th out of 11 agencies (see Appendix B in the LBFFA attached MOU).

The proposed long-term agreement attempts to address compensation challenges over a five-and-a-half year period, with the goal of maintaining and attracting a well-qualified workforce to deliver critical emergency services . The proposed agreement provides varying adjustments by rank with the goal of bringing members of the LBFFA to the middle of a comparable group of agencies by October 2011.

In addition, the agreement provides incentives to improve workforce productivity and lower City costs.

The long-term approach agreed to by the LBFFA will enable the City to effectively plan for, predict and budget for its fire department employees and ensure compensation decisions are made based upon each classification's place in the market . In addition, the City will pay Firefighters assigned to special programs requiring a high degree of training, skill pays similar to those paid in other agencies in the region . These programs include Urban Search and Rescue, Hazardous Materials, Fire Prevention and the Airport...

FISCAL IMPACT

The estimated cost of this MOU to the General Fund for Fiscal Year 2008 is $1.8 million, and $678,913 to all other funds, which will be supported by current year budget savings. The estimated cost for Fiscal Year 2009 is $2.4 million to the General Fund and $808,328 to all other funds, which will be included in the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget. The average incremental cost for each fiscal year of the MOU is $2.3 million to the General Fund and $589,000 to all other funds.

Reaction is pending on LBReport.com.