Redwood City approves new police contract

The updated contract with the Redwood City Police Officers’ Association covers Aug. 30, 2021, to Aug. 25, 2024. Under the new contract, full-time officers will receive two 3% cost-of-living increases and a 1.5% equity adjustment to take place retroactively on Feb. 27. Another salary adjustment will occur in September, ranging from 2.5% to 5% based on a survey of compensation of comparable agencies, according to staff.

Officers will also receive a lump sum payment equivalent to a 3% COLA increase and a 1.5% equity adjustment for work done during the period of Aug. 30, 2021, through Feb. 26, 2023, and a second 3% COLA increase for work done during the period of Sept. 11, 2022, and Feb. 26, 2023, when the group was out of contract.

The agreement will cost the city about $1.8 million but the city is also expected to save money in the long run given that the groups agreed to alter the city’s retirement health plan for new employees hired after Jan. 30.

Employees hired after that date who, at the time of their retirement, qualify for Industrial Disability Retirement for experiencing work-related injuries, will continue to receive lifetime health insurance for themselves but the employee and the city will each pay $40 each month into a retirement health fund to help cover some of the cost.

Employees hired before Jan. 30 will continue to be eligible for the previous retirement health plan, which offered lifetime coverage for them and their family members if a spouse is not eligible for other health coverage. They’ll continue to contribute a cost share of 1.8% for that benefit.

“The city sincerely values the work of its public safety and we are pleased to have reached an agreement after a long period of mutual hard work at the bargaining table. We care about our employees and have worked hard to address their concerns,” Human Resources Director Michelle Katsuyoshi said.

The decision came just before City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz and Assistant City Manager Michelle Flaherty presented a budget update that included revised long-term financial projections. The update signaled harder economic times could be ahead for the city.

Stevenson Diaz had previously warned the council about future potential deficits of between $1.2 million and $5 million from the fiscal year 2021-22 to the fiscal year 2025-26 largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those impacts are now being combined with what Flaherty described as a “softening economy,” and a looming recession. Stevenson Diaz said the city now anticipates deficits of more than $10 million from fiscal year 2023-24 to fiscal year 2025-26 followed by five more years of fiscal deficits ranging from more than $7 million to about $1.8 million.

Mayor Jeff Gee acknowledged the “doom and gloom” of the report but argued the information is necessary for the city’s preparations.

“While you might look at it as a dark cloud, it’s information that this council and our community can look ahead and plan for. We don’t want to be surprised, we want to plan. If there’s something happening, let’s plan and get our arms around it and move forward with it,” Gee said.

To prepare for the budget trains, Stevenson Diaz said the city will have to ensure it has adequate quality staff on board to provide vital services and the resources to fund both. While the city’s population has grown, she said staffing has not expanded at the same rate since a staffing reduction was implemented during previous financially turbulent times 15 years ago.

The city is working to fill vacant positions left unfilled during the pandemic; however, Stevenson Diaz said hiring has been difficult because the candidate pool is low and there is increased competition.

The results of studies into service levels of some city departments will also come to the council in April and May that will help determine if any adjustments are needed and the cost of making those adjustments.

Staff has also proposed the council hold a capital improvement program study session in April and a public hearing on the Community Development Block Grant and Annual Action Plan in May.

Formal budget discussions for fiscal year 2023-24 will begin in June. Future discussions may also focus on whether the city should realign its fees to cover costs and study new revenue stream options.

“I want to be fair and reasonable because I want to make sure that we don’t do something that we cannot defend to the public or that we over-impact the public to the point where they’re just not happy to live here anymore,” Howard said. “So it’s going to be a balance.”