Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Rick Torres, SEA president, hopes the contract will be approved.

City officials and employee group reach tentative contract agreement

City Council to review Nov. 5

By Sarah Lombardo

The Saratoga Employees Association and city officials have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. The agreement will be written up and is expected to be presented to the City Council for review Nov. 5.

The new contract, called a memo of understanding, outlines a few changes in compensation to the employees, such as a 3 percent wage increase retroactive to Sept. 1 and another 3 percent increase effective next July 1, and a slight increase in the dental benefits package for employees and their families. The contract also calls for a three-hour minimum for weekend or off-duty emergency calls, which means that if employees are called out to work during off-time, they will get paid for at least a three-hour stint.

Talks between the city and the SEA have been ongoing since the beginning of June, with meetings being held about once a month. Rick Torres, SEA president for two years and a street maintenance worker in the city's public works department, said the contract is acceptable.

"We're not jumping for joy, but it's a contract," he said. "Considering what we are coming out of, it's pretty good. There was talk there for a while that we weren't going to get anything."

When negotiations began, the city was coming out of strenuous budget hearings in the wake of the loss of the utility users tax last November. The loss of the tax, and the more than $1 million shortfall it created in the city's budget, left the city with a lot on its plate--and little in its pocket--come talks time.

"The budget process did necessitate a delay in the negotiations in just that there were simply just too many things happening all at one time, and the SEA realized that and was patient," Interim City Manager Larry Perlin said. "The reorganization of the city luckily did not really complicate the negotiations. The employees association was extremely cooperative in all aspects of the reorganization, and they deserve credit for that."

During the budget hearings from January to June of this year, the city determined that a reorganization was needed after it had to eliminate a total of almost seven jobs from its rosters.

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