The City of Sparks, Nevada, enters into labor agreements with its various collective bargaining units.  The Association of Sparks Fire Department Classified Chief Officers Unit contract expired June 30, 2017. The parties began meeting in the Spring of 2017, and continued to meet on a regular basis to discuss the terms and conditions of the agreement. The collective bargaining agreement proposed today is the result of those meetings. The City and the Unit believe the attached agreement fairly represents a good faith effort to reach agreement involving wage rates and benefits. The Unit ratified the agreement.  Now both negotiating teams recommend ratification/approval of the proposed agreement by Council.

Following is a Summary of Tentative Agreement reached between the parties.  This summary outlines the contract changes.  Also attached to this report are a strike out copy and the final version of the proposed agreement, as well as a financial impact statement.  All of the costs associated with the contract changes are in the General Fund.

Summary of Tentative Agreements:

Section 1: Administration, Article C: Amending Procedure.   This section was changed to state that the benefits that exist under the contract may not be changed except through negotiation.  There is no direct cost related to this contract change.

Section 1: Administration, Article D: Duration of the Agreement.   This section was changed to reflect the new contract period of July 1, 2017 thru June 30, 2020.  There is no direct cost related to this contract change.

Section 1: Administration, Article N: Savings Clause.   The language regarding agreement to negotiate over the impact and effects of consolidation on represented employees is removed.  There is no direct cost related to this contract change.

Section 2: Pay, Article A: Pay Rates

The parties have agreed to the following pay increases:

Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).

Effective the first full pay period following July 1, 2017, employees shall receive a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 1.8% above the base salary rate in effect June 30, 2017.

Effective the first full pay period following July 1, 2018, employees shall receive a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 2.0% above the base salary rate in effect June 30, 2018.

Effective the first full pay period following July 1, 2019, employees shall receive a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 2.0% above the base salary rate in effect June 30, 2019.

The FY18 COLA financial impact estimate is $19,000 per year.  The fiscal impact of COLAs in FY19 is estimated to be $22,000 per year. The fiscal impact of COLAs in FY20 is an estimate of $23,000 per year.

Range Adjustment – For Battalion Chiefs Only. A market range adjustment increasing the minimum and maximum rates of pay of the range for Battalion Chiefs only will be applied each year based on the January 9, 2017 base pay rates.  The range adjustments will be the following:

The FY18 market range adjustment financial impact is an estimated $5,000 per year fiscal impact. The market range adjustment in FY19 is an estimated $7,000 per year fiscal impact. The FY20 market range adjustment is an estimated $9,000 per year fiscal impact.

The COLA and Range Adjustment financial impact figures above do not include variable pay.  Additional analysis has been done to estimate the fiscal year impact of overtime, callback and standby.  These are not guaranteed hours.  A projection of the likely financial impact was calculated using historical usage from FY17, and applying the increased base pay rates.  In FY18, the estimated cost is $3,000.  By FY19, the estimated financial impact is $7,000.  For FY20, the estimated cost is $12,000.

An additional statement was added to state that probationary employees who receive a change in pay for reaching a minimum level of acting hours will receive that pay rate change at the beginning of the next full pay period.  This codifies existing pay practices.  There is no financial impact.

Section 2: Pay, Article E: Acting Temporary Pay.  Contract language was added to specify acting pay for working in a position above the pay range associated with the employee’s regular job title. Those acting as the Fire Chief are eligible for payment of 5% of their regular wage during non-work hours in the acting assignment.  The following table shows the table for acting pay during work hours:

The monetary impact is estimated at $3,300 for FY18, $3,400 for FY19 and $3,700 for FY20.

Section 2: Pay, Article F:  Stand By Duty. This article was updated to reflect that employees on standby must provide a telephone number where they can be contacted.  There is no longer an option to carry a department pager.  There is no financial impact associated with this change.

Section 4: Leave Benefits, Article A: Holidays and Holiday Pay. This article was updated to clarify that when specified holidays fall on a weekend, they may be observed during the work week for 40-hour employees.  This does not apply for 56-hour employees.  There is no financial impact, the change simply clarifies our current holiday designation practices.

Section 4: Leave Benefits, Article B: Annual.  The Contract was changed to provide 40-hour employees with a maximum annual leave accumulation of 400 hours, which represents an increase of 20 hours.  The potential liability increase from this change is estimated to be up to $1,500 over the three-year contract term.

Section 4: Leave Benefits, Article C: Sick Leave.  The new Contract provides additional days that can be designated as authorized use of sick leave.  It does not grant any additional sick leave to employees.  Therefore, there is no financial impact.

Section 4: Leave Benefits, Article J: Compensatory Time.  The parties agreed that employees may still request a payout of their compensatory time, but that there will be no automatic payout.  The potential liability increase is estimated as up to $18,000 in FY18, up to $19,000 in FY19, and up to $20,000 in FY20.

Section 4: Leave Benefits, Article L: Personal Days.  The parties agreed to increase the number of personal days for 40 hour employees from 8 hours to 24 hours, and for 56 hour employees from 12 hours to 36 hours. The financial impact of this is estimated at $8,000 per fiscal year.

1. The Council may choose to approve the proposed bargaining agreement.
2. The Council may choose not to approve the proposed bargaining agreement.
3. The Council may choose not to approve the proposed bargaining agreement and direct the City Manager toward another alternative.

I move to approve the bargaining agreement between the City of Sparks and the Association of Sparks Fire Department Classified Chief Officers Unit July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2020.