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City proposes 3% COLA, step changes and lower health-care increase in bargaining proposal
Summary
El Paso City's management proposed a 3% cost-of-living adjustment, added a proposed step 12 effective 09/01/2029, and suggested health-care cost-sharing at a 10% increase (reduced from a projected 22%), with city staff estimating $2.9 million total cost over four years.
Sarshawn Donovsky of the Office of Management and Budget presented the city's compensation proposal, saying, "our proposal, COLA, our proposal is to keep the same, like the current contract, 3%." Donovsky also described an embedded fire step increase and proposed a new step 12 to start on 09/01/2029, and recommended a health-care cost-share increase to 10% (the presentation reduced the city's prior projection from 22% to 10%).
The presentation listed phased longevity increases (including $7.50 in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 and $10 in later years), special-team pay rising from $75 to $100, and a timing plan for sick and vacation payouts. Donovsky said the city calculates a total cost for its four-year proposal at $2,900,000.
City and union negotiators discussed the timing and fiscal implications of adding a 12th step; the city's CFO, Robert Cortinas, cautioned that adding the 12th step would be costly and that the city had spread assumed impacts over multiple years to mitigate immediate budget pressure.
