REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 06/07/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Human Resources Department
SUBJECT:
Title
SIDE LETTER WITH THE CITY OF CORONA’S CORONA POLICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION AND THE CORONA POLICE SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The staff report asks the City Council to approve a Side Letter of Agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Corona Police Employees Association and the Corona Police Supervisors Association.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to approve the attached Side Letter of Agreement modifying the January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024, MOU with the Corona Police Employees Association (CPEA) and the Corona Police Supervisors Association (CPSA) to include forty (40) hours of Annual Leave for new sworn police lateral hires as well as recognize prior years of sworn experience for the calculation of longevity pay and annual leave accrual for current and future lateral officers.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City of Corona currently has a MOU with the CPEA and CPSA that is in effect from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024. Within Article 3 - Additional Compensation, Section 3.3 - Longevity Pay and Section 19.1 - Accrual of Annual Leave state the following:
CPEA
Section 3.3 - Longevity Pay
In recognition of an employee’s length of full-time service to the City of Corona, employees who qualify under the following schedule will receive one twenty-sixth (1/26th) of the following amounts paid biweekly as part of the regular payroll:
Police Officer
▪ After five (5) years of service: $2,320.00
▪ After ten (10) years of service: $3,720.00
▪ After fifteen (15) years of service: $5,120.00
▪ After twenty (20) years of service: $5,645.00
▪ After twenty-five (25) years of service: $6,627.00
Corporal
▪ After five (5) years of service: $2,320.00
▪ After ten (10) years of service: $3,720.00
▪ After fifteen (15) years of service: $5,120.00
▪ After twenty (20) years of service: $5,846.00
▪ After twenty-five (25) years of service: $6,877.00
Detective
▪ After five (5) years of service: $2,320.00
▪ After ten (10) years of service: $3,720.00
▪ After fifteen (15) years of service: $5,120.00
▪ After twenty (20) years of service: $5,950.00
▪ After twenty-five (25) years of service: $7,008.00
Section 19.1 - Accrual of Annual Leave
Full-Time Employees: Each biweekly pay period, Annual Leave hours earned are posted to the account of each employee as follows:
|
YEARS OF SERVICE WITH THE CITY |
ANNUAL ACCRUAL |
ACCRUAL PER PAY PERIOD |
|
1-5 |
210 hrs |
8.08 |
|
6-8 |
226 hrs |
8.69 |
|
9-15 |
250 hrs |
9.62 |
|
16-20 |
290 hrs |
11.15 |
|
21-25 |
207 hrs |
7.97 |
|
More than 25 |
187 hrs |
7.17 |
CPSA
Section 3.3 - Longevity Pay
In recognition of unit member’s length of full-time service to the City of Corona, employees who qualify under the following schedule will receive one twenty-sixth (1/26th) of the following amounts paid biweekly as part of the regular payroll:
Police Sergeants:
|
After five (5) years of service: |
$2,320.00 |
|
After ten (10) years of service: |
$3,720.00 |
|
After fifteen (15) years of service: |
$5,120.00 |
|
After twenty (20) years of service: |
$7,041.00 |
|
After twenty-five (25) years of service: |
$8,371.00 |
Police Lieutenants:
|
After five (5) years of service:$2,320.00 |
|
|
After ten (10) years of service: |
$3,720.00 |
|
After fifteen (15) years of service: |
$5,120.00 |
|
After twenty (20) years of service: |
$8,216.00 |
|
After twenty-five (25) years of service: |
$9,840.00 |
Police Captains:
|
After five (5) years of service: |
$2,600.00 |
|
After ten (10) years of service: |
$4,000.00 |
|
After fifteen (15) years of service: |
$5,400.00 |
|
After twenty (20) years of service: |
$7,715.00 |
|
After twenty-five (25) years of service: |
$9,620.00 |
Section 19.1 - Accrual of Annual Leave
Each biweekly pay period, Annual Leave hours earned are posted to each employee's account as follows:
Police Sergeants: Police Sergeants shall accrue Annual Leave as follows:
|
YEARS OF SERVICE |
ANNUAL ACCRUAL |
ACCRUAL PER PAY PERIOD |
|
1-5 |
210 hrs |
8.08 |
|
6-8 |
226 hrs |
8.69 |
|
9-15 |
250 hrs |
9.62 |
|
16-20 |
290 hrs |
11.15 |
|
21-25 |
207 hrs |
7.97 |
|
More than 25 |
187 hrs |
7.17 |
Police Lieutenants: Police Lieutenants shall accrue Annual Leave as follows:
|
YEARS OF SERVICE |
ANNUAL ACCRUAL |
ACCRUAL PER PAY PERIOD |
|
1-5 |
210 hrs |
8.08 |
|
6-8 |
226 hrs |
8.69 |
|
9-15 |
250 hrs |
9.62 |
|
16-20 |
290 hrs |
11.15 |
|
21-25 |
210 hrs |
8.07 |
|
More than 25 |
190 hrs |
7.29 |
Police Captains: Police Captains shall accrue Annual Leave as follows:
|
YEARS OF SERVICE |
ANNUAL ACCRUAL |
ACCRUAL PER PAY PERIOD |
|
1-5 years |
216 hrs |
8.31 |
|
6-8 years |
232 hrs |
8.92 |
|
9-15 years |
256 hrs |
9.84 |
|
16-20 years |
296 hrs |
11.38 |
|
21-25 years |
236 hrs |
9.07 |
|
More than 25 years |
216 hrs |
8.30 |
When an experienced Police Officer joins the Corona Police Department, they start at the 1-5-years of service accrual rate category for the purposes of Annual Leave. Currently, for the calculation of longevity pay, only years of service at the Corona Police Department are considered.
ANALYSIS:
The City of Corona Police Department is currently facing many recruitment and retention challenges, including but not limited to:
• Upcoming retirements
• Negative public perception of the profession
• Competition from local and surrounding agencies
• Workload and stress
• Screening and hiring process
To ensure that the Corona Police Department maintains a talented and experienced workforce, it is essential to not only attract highly qualified lateral police officers through enhanced recruitment efforts but also to focus on retaining current officers by fostering their appreciation and loyalty. Lateral police officers bring valuable expertise to the City, quickly adapting to our Police Department procedures, policies, and community dynamics. To achieve and retain a highly skilled police workforce, Corona Police Department must take proactive and creative measures to stand out from surrounding agencies.
Staff recommends that new lateral officers receive 40 hours of Annual Leave upon hire Providing this leave to new lateral officers is a way to attract experienced law enforcement professionals to join the Corona Police Department. If such employee does not successfully complete their initial-hire probationary period as addressed in Article 24 of this MOU, forty (40) hours of their Annual Leave will not be permitted to be cashed out upon release from probation.
In addition, staff recommends that both full-time service with the City of Corona, as well as full-time sworn law enforcement service in a position (as defined by California Penal Code sections 830.1, 830.2, 830.31 (a),(d), 830.32 and 830.33 or the out-of-state equivalent as determined by the Chief of Police), shall count when determining an employee's years of service placement with relation to longevity pay and annual leave accrual.
To ensure accurate placement regarding longevity and annual leave accrual, staff has developed a verification process to verify prior years of service. This process will support a fair and equitable determination of benefits for lateral police employees joining our department.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended action to recognize the additional years of sworn law enforcement service for annual leave accrual and longevity pay will result in an estimated budget increase of $105,516 in FY 2024 for existing lateral officers. Based on the Council’s approval, the funding change will be incorporated into the Adopted FY 2024 Budget. The recurring budget impact is estimated between $105,000 - $112,000 per fiscal year. Approval of the 40-hour annual leave bank for new lateral police employees will cost approximately $1,600 - $2,100, depending on the employee’s pay rate. No additional funding is needed for the 40-hour annual leave bank, as salary savings from vacant positions will cover the one-time cost.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. This action will enhance our recruitment and retention efforts, which will not have an impact on the environment. This activity is not subject to CEQA. There is no possibility that the acceptance of this report will have a significant effect on the environment.
PREPARED BY: REBECCA CHRISTOPHER, HUMAN RESOURCES SUPERVISOR
REVIEWED BY: ANGELA RIVERA, CHIEF TALENT OFFICER
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Side Letter to the January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024 CPEA and CPSA MOU’s