Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : Police Union and City Are Negotiating Again

Representatives of the police union, who failed to win a substantial pay raise last year, met with city officials Monday to discuss terms of a new contract.

The two sides appear to be closer than they were during protracted 1987-88 negotiations, which ended with the city imposing its final offer on the union. There still are significant differences, according to Sgt. Donald Blankenship, president of the Police Benevolent Assn.

At this time last year, the city was offering raises of 4.5% and 4% over two years, while the union wanted an immediate raise of 11.9% for officers and 24.9% for sergeants. The city eventually imposed a 4.5% raise, plus an additional 2% for sergeants, after negotiations deadlocked.

This year, the two sides have tentatively settled on a 5% increase for fiscal year 1988-89 and two 3.5% increases during 1989-90, Blankenship said. But the union is asking for other items, Deputy City Manager Jan C. Perkins said. They include a $340, one-time bonus for each of the union’s 337 members, an increase in the city’s contributions to retiree insurance, pension plans and medical insurance, and a new patrol schedule allowing nine-hour shifts in exchange for three-day weekends every two weeks. The union also is asking that officers be paid for lunch breaks.

“Hopefully, we’re not far off in closing a deal,” Blankenship said. “But maybe they don’t want a deal, and they’re just going to ram it down our throats again.”