More Salary Cuts and Salary Freezes

Merced is one of the cities that mirrors Manteca when it comes to population, services and revenue per capita. Not surprisingly, they are suffering very similar budget woes to us. They have already eliminated 74 staff positions in the recession and expect another tough budget year ahead. While we've been forced to modify existing labor agreements to help bridge our budget gap, Merced's labor agreements are expiring.

Here's more about the agreements from today's Merced Sun-Star:

Due to the uncertainty in the current labor climate, they decided to put together new contracts which expire in a year.

While all sides voiced their general satisfaction with the contracts' outcome, the austerity agreements, which froze wage increases among other things, came at a time when the troubled economy has forced the city to tighten its belt.

"We came to a very good agreement," said Merced City Manager John Bramble, about the contracts. "They understand our financial situation, and we understood their issues."

While the two agreements saw each union give concessions in the form of wage freezes, they were limited in duration and will be renegotiated within a short period.

The Merced Police Officers Association, which represents roughly 100 officers, agreed to a two-year contract with a wage freeze, but received a slight improvement in their medical coverage. The last contract the association signed was in 2006.

"I'm pleased with the outcome because there are a lot of cities faced with layoffs and work furloughs and reductions, and we were able to come to an agreement with the city where we're not losing anything," said Keith Pelowski, president of MPOA.

The Merced Fire Fighters Local 1479 of the International Fire Fighters Association, which represents 62 firefighters in Merced, signed a one-year contract, which also includes a wage freeze. The contract also includes an increase in out-of-pocket medical costs, said Jeremy Franklin, the secretary of the firefighters union.

Aside from minor concessions, the union was happy with the contract, said Franklin, especially with the economic situation as bad as it is. Most of all, they wanted to avoid layoffs, and they did, he said.

The two unions had been in negotiations with the city since late summer.

Here in San Joaquin County, the District Attorney's office was not able to come up with a agreement to save the jobs of seven prosecutors. Here's more from the Stockton Record:

In the deal, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors had asked the association to reduce a scheduled raise from 5 percent to 1 percent, covering $380,000 needed to keep the positions for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Spokesman Michael Bullard said in a written statement for the association of attorneys who work in both the prosecutor and public defender's offices that they had no choice but to reject the deal.

"The county's offer to us was dead on arrival with such one-sided demands," Bullard said.

The association voted Tuesday with 70 percent of its members saying they wouldn't agree to the concessions.

The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office now has to figure out what to do with seven fewer prosecutors. The layoffs wipe out the misdemeanor team, and the office will likely have to close its Tracy branch, among other measures.