Sutter Creek – The City of Sutter Creek City Council on Monday directed staff to continue working with city employee representatives for 3 week to try “to come to an agreement on the expired contracts for each union.” The finance committee, made up of Mayor Pro Tempore Tim Murphy and Councilwoman Linda Rianda, will join Rabe and City Manager Rob Duke as the negotiation team for the city, to work to resolve contract disputes with the Service Employees International Union and the Sutter Creek Police Officer’s Association. POA was to meet with the committee next week, and SEIU representatives were to meet this week. Rabe said the negotiation team has been meeting on a regular basis with the 2 associations since early June. The city council’s original deadline to finish negotiations passed without resolution July 15th. Rabe said “while progress was being made” in talks, the latest “did not provide any movement on either side.” As a result, the POA declared an impasse July 29 and sought the council to do the same. The SEIU did not declare an impasse as of Monday, and the council did not declare an impasse with either group Monday. Had the council declared impasses, it would have activated the negotiations’ “last and final offer” for a contract to each union. The council instead “directed the finance committee to continue working with each group for a period of 3 weeks, with the ultimate goal of coming to an agreement with each association.” Rabe said: “the Council recognized that we are very close to an agreement.” The council took “several steps to decrease the General Fund deficit,” he said, including: “termination of two management positions; consolidation of department head duties” under Duke and Rabe; and leaving vacant a Public Works Director post, with duties to be absorbed by Rabe. The council also revised a purchase agreement for the Knight Foundry to prevent any General Fund expenditures from being used for the purchase. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.