Henderson negotiating to scrap cost-of-living raises

By Jeremy Twitchell (contact)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | 2:39 p.m.

Jim Gibson

The Henderson City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to scrap an automatic 3.5 percent raise for non-union supervisors and executives, while announcing that it had reached a tentative agreement with its police unions to do the same.

The increase for supervisors and executives was scheduled to go into place July 1. The council also voted to cancel a planned 0.66 percent increase in the matching contribution the city makes to those employees’ retirement accounts that was scheduled to begin Jan 1.

Acting Human Resources Director Fred Horvath said the Henderson Police Officers Association has tentatively accepted a one-year bargaining agreement with the city that does not include a cost-of-living increase, which would go into effect July 1. If union members approve the agreement Thursday night, the Henderson Police Supervisors Association has agreed to forego its increase as well.

Union officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last year, the Police Officers Association agreed to a one-year deal. Since that deal will end June 30, no cost of living increase had been budgeted for the 2010 budget year because no increase had been approved. The Police Supervisors Association is near the end of the first year in a three-year deal it reached with the city last year.

Horvath said the city is in ongoing negotiations with the International Association of Firefighters Local 1883, which represents Henderson firefighters, to work out a similar agreement and is scheduled to meet with the Teamsters Local 14, which represents other city workers, on May 12 to propose it to them as well.

If all four unions accept, it will save the city about $5.1 million per year.

In December, the Teamsters agreed to a four-year deal with the city that included cost of living allowances for the current and coming budget years totalling $1.7 million, but union negotiators also offered a number of concessions that totalled $1.5 million, resulting in a net $200,000 increase to the city.

The firefighters are halfway through a two-year deal reached with the city last year.

Cancelling the increases for non-union supervisors and executives at City Hall will save the city $2.4 million in the coming budget year, and $9.6 million over four years, Horvath said.

“These (actions) are an important aspect of our overall efforts to balance our budget, not only in this year, but in out years,” Mayor James B. Gibson said. “We appreciate the willingness of employees and all our bargaining units to sit down and have these discussions. It’s in all our interest.”

Last month, city officials announced that the revenue shortfall in the current budget year was projected to grow to more than $57 million. The city had already instituted a hiring freeze, offered voluntary buyouts to veteran employees, created a furlough program, cut the budget of all departments except public safety by 10 percent, tapped its rainy day fund and delayed a number of construction projects in its efforts to make up for the shortfall.