Santa Ana Reaches Accord With Police on Pact Calling for Raises Totaling 15%

After more than seven months of contract negotiations, Santa Ana police agreed Thursday to the city’s offer of an 8% pay raise with a second 7% raise beginning in November.

Of the 337 members of the Santa Ana Police Benevolent Assn. who voted on the contract, 219 voted yes, said Bob L. Brooks, head of the association. “It’s a good offer from the city and a commitment on their part to recognize the police officers’ value,” Brooks said.

Despite a salary increase Brooks called an “excellent offer,” some police personnel said they were dissatisfied with the city’s refusal to agree to other issues under negotiation, such as allowing a four-day, 10-hour-a-day work schedule.

“Realistically, you can’t win every issue that you take to the table,” Brooks said.

The officers have been working without a contract since July 1, when their two-year agreement expired, Brooks said. The city initially offered 5%, and the association initially asked for 14%.

The 8% raise will be retroactive to July 1. The current pay for a police officer ranges from $2,128 to $2,587 per month and for a police sergeant from $2,523 to $3,067, Brooks said. The association’s 411 members include about 140 unsworn members, such as police recruits and animal control workers.

Two years ago, when the police and the city reached an impasse over contract negotiations, officers staged a ticket-writing slowdown they hoped would drain city coffers of about $5,000 to $7,000 a day in traffic fines.

This time, Brooks said, “we never reached a point of frustration. Even though it was drawn out and lengthy, we didn’t have the problems that we had two years ago.”