Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council approved a year contractual extension for its police officers Monday, bringing to close negotiations over the last four months, with an increase on work hours, and corresponding increases in sick time and floating holidays. It also increased doctors benefits, aided by a decrease in city insurance costs.

Sutter Creek City Council voted 5-0 Monday to approve a memorandum of understanding between the city and its police officers for a term of one year. City Manager Sean Rabe recommended the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sutter Creek Police Officer’s Association (POA), after negotiations were finalized.

Rabe said in a report to the Council dated Monday said the city’s negotiation committee, of Concilman Gary Wooten, Mayor Pro Tempore Linda Rianda and Rabe, “were meeting with the POA on a biweekly basis between June and the beginning of September to negotiate a new MOU.” He said the “City Council provided specific direction to the negotiation committee during closed sessions.”

Key provisions in the MOU, he said, included that it expires at the end of June 2012; and it gives a new, second tier to the Public Employees Retirement System to “establish for new, fulltime POA members. This tier would fall under the formula of 2 percent at 50 (years of age), which will provide the city with a significant cost savings on new employee retirement costs.” He said existing employees would “remain on the 3 percent at 50 plan” and “both existing and new employees pay their side of PERS, which was agreed upon in last year’s MOU.”

The cap for medical, dental and vision was raised from $1,000 a month to $1,100 a month “to offset an 18 percent increase in the city’s medical premiums.” Rabe said the “overall cost of this increase was $6,000” and the city “recently renegotiated some insurance policies which provides more than enough in savings” to cover that cost.

The agreement also changed the hours POA employees work from 2,080 to 2,184 hours per year, and increased accruable sick leave days by one extra day per year, and also changed “floating holidays” from 2 to 3 days per year.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.