The City Council unanimously approved an agreement with the Orange County Employees Association at last week’s council meeting. The council also approved a budget amendment for of $48,530 to cover costs related to the agreement.
This was a Consent Calendar item. Consent items are voted on collectively, without discussion, unless a council member pulls one or more items for further discussion. This item was not pulled.
Background
“The City has met and conferred in good faith with OCEA regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. As a result of these negotiations, the City and OCEA have reached a tentative agreement and prepared a draft MOU [memorandum of understanding],” according to the staff report by Management Analyst Jennifer Robles.
“The MOU incorporates the agreed-upon terms and conditions. The proposed MOU covers the period of July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028,” Robles wrote.
The agreement included cost-of-living adjustments over three years:
“• Year One: 2.5% effective the pay period of October 26 – November 8, 2025
“• Year Two: 2.5% effective the first full pay period in July 2026
“• Year Three: 2.5% effective the first full pay period in July 2027,” Robles wrote.
“Upon adoption of the MOU, each OCEA-represented employee will receive a onetime,
non-PERS-able payment of $2,000,” Robles wrote.
Seal Beach resident Catherine Showalter was puzzled by the term and asked about it during the public comment part of the meeting, which comes before the Consent Calendar.
Finance Director/Treasurer Barbara Arenado addressed Showalter’s question.
“Regarding the statement, that stipend that was an agreed upon one-time payment to the OCA group of $2,000. It is non-persable and it was a part of negotiations,” said Finance Director Barabra Arenado.
City Manager Patrick Gallegos also said the payment was non-persable. “So the labor group and the council tentatively agreed to this and this is before you uh on consent calendar,” Gallegos said.
“So that’s a one time and no impact on benefits,” said District Three Councilwoman/Mayor Lisa Landau.
“That’s correct,” said Gallegos.
(Editor’s note: The term “non-persable” means money that does not count toward a public employee’s pension. The term refers to the California Public Employees Retirement System, also known as PERS or CalPERS.)
Terms of agreement
“The City will contribute $30 per pay period for each employee into the City’s deferred compensation program,” Robles wrote.
“Each non-sworn employee of the Police Department required to wear a uniform as a condition of employment shall receive a uniform allowance of $1,250 annually,” Robles wrote.
“Call-out and overtime pay shall be compensated at one and one-half (1.5) times the regular hourly rate. The minimum call-out time, when returning to work, shall be three (3) hours,” Robles wrote.
“The City shall reimburse employees, as a medical benefit, for actual documented expenses related to medical maintenance exams or participation in wellness programs, up to $400 per fiscal year,” Robles wrote.
“Reimbursement shall follow the City’s standard reimbursement procedures and may include out-of-pocket expenses for annual physical examinations, medical tests, participation in weight loss, smoking cessation, or fitness programs, or membership in a health or fitness club,” Robles wrote.
“During the term of the MOU, the City and OCEA have also agreed to a reopener provision to meet and confer regarding the results and implementation of the City’s salary study for OCEA-represented classifications,” Robles wrote.
