Salaries and pension contributions going up for Newport police sergeants and lieutenants

Newport Beach police sergeants and lieutenants will get raises but also contribute a larger portion of their paychecks to pensions under a new contract approved by the City Council on Tuesday.

The 33 sergeants and lieutenants represented by the Newport Beach Police Management Assn. had been contributing 12.8% of their pay toward future retirement costs, as dictated by a contract that expired at the beginning of this year.

Under the new agreement, they’ll pay 13.6% through 2015 and 14.6% starting in 2016, according to a city staff report.

According to Newport Beach, 14.6% is the highest pension contribution rate for any city in Orange County.

The increased pension payments are offset by guaranteed salary bumps this year and the next three years.

The sergeants and lieutenants will receive a 1.8% raise this year, followed by increases of 3% in 2016, 2.5% in 2017 and 3% in 2018, according to the staff report.

The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1 and expires in June 2018.

With this year’s raise, a Newport Beach police sergeant will make between $7,522 and $10,583 per month, and a lieutenant will make $8,843 to $12,441 monthly.

The city estimated that the new agreement will cost an additional $305,111 this fiscal year, compared with the previous contract, and $1.42 million more through June 2018.

Members of the Police Management Assn. have already ratified the agreement, according to the city, and the council voted unanimously to approve it.