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Compensation proposals outlined: city offers 2.5% COLA; union counters with 5% and higher total cost
Summary
City staff presented a May 14 proposal with a 2.5% COLA and step changes (estimated $40M over four years). Local 51's June 26 counter proposed 5% COLA with embedded 5% steps (estimated $56M). Parties discussed health-plan premium impacts and IRS compliance language for high-deductible plans.
City budget staff and Local 51 negotiators spent the opening portion of the meeting laying out competing compensation proposals and the near-term fiscal impacts.
Sashan Donoski of the Office of Management and Budget presented the numbers: the city’s May 14 offer would include a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) plus step changes and was represented in the packet as totaling about $40,000,000 over the four-year contract. The union’s June 26 counterproposal included a 5% COLA with embedded 5% step increases; Donoski described the union estimate as "the total cost of the contract is $56,000,000."
The parties discussed how those headline COLA proposals interact with benefits and step schedules. Donoski walked through projected effects on health-plan premiums for the most-enrolled family tier in the CDHP option, describing per-pay-period increases previously shown on earlier slides. A city staff member cautioned that federal changes to rules governing high-deductible health plans and IRS limits mean any acceptance of higher employer contributions must be accompanied by language ensuring compliance.
Context and next steps: the city said it will revise presentation slides and circulate corrected handouts (staff noted a conversion error in one slide and committed to reissuing the corrected material). Negotiators did not finalize a COLA or adopt contract language at this meeting; both sides left compensation figures on the table pending further drafting and committee review for related operational or benefits items.
What was not resolved: although dollar estimates were presented, the meeting did not produce a signed contract, and many items that affect total cost (health-plan contributions, longevity, step structure) remain subject to final language and fiscal review.
