Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Labor topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
North Miami council ratifies three-year police contract including pension change
Summary
The City Council unanimously approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the South Florida Police Benevolent Association that includes cost-of-living raises, new special-assignment pay and a union concession allowing the city to retain certain premium tax proceeds to offset pension costs.
The North Miami City Council on Tuesday unanimously ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the South Florida Police Benevolent Association covering officers and sergeants, approving raises and changes to pension funding.
The agreement, which the council approved 5-0, runs from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2027, and includes cost-of-living adjustments of 4% in year one and 5% in each of the next two years, expanded special-assignment pay and recognition of law enforcement appreciation day as a paid holiday. The city won a concession that the PBA agreed to allow the city to keep “currently unallocated and all future $1.85 premium tax money received by the plan to offset the city's required contribution,” an item outside normal wage talks that the city’s attorney and negotiators told the council was a primary fiscal benefit for the municipality.
Personnel Director Laura Whitley and outside labor counsel Brett Schneider briefed the council on the settlement and answered members’ questions during a public hearing. Schneider described the package as “a 3 year collective bargaining agreement” and emphasized the pension provision as a significant concession for the city. Chief Charice Gause thanked the council for its support, saying, “Our officers go out each and every day and do a phenomenal job making public safety a priority in the city of North Miami.”
Representatives of the South Florida PBA urged swift council action. Stedman Saul, president of the South Florida PBA, said, “Every penny that you've put into public safety will come back to you,” and the union membership subsequently ratified the contract before the council vote.
Council members framed the vote as recognition of police service and as a fiscally negotiated outcome. After public comment the council voted to adopt the agreement and directed staff to return with pension-ordinance amendments in coming months to implement the pension-related language in the contract.
The council’s approval authorizes the interim city manager to execute the collective bargaining agreement on the city’s behalf; council members were told the next formal step will be ordinance changes to implement the agreed pension plan changes.
The vote was 5-0 in favor.
