Simi Valley, Police Resume Negotiations

Contract negotiations between the city of Simi Valley and its Police Department resumed Tuesday after a two-week deadlock and were expected to continue today, representatives of both sides said.

“There’s no settlement. There are still things to talk about,” said city Personnel Director Laura Wylie.

Stephen Silver, attorney for the Simi Valley Police Officers Assn., said: “Today’s proposal was not acceptable but it opened a couple of doors.”

Both Wylie and Silver declined to discuss details of the 2 1/2-hour meeting.

The talks resumed after dozens of Simi Valley police officers, their colleagues and relatives packed a City Council meeting Monday, voicing concern over the lack of a settlement and protesting threats to replace the police force with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

The city’s 85-member police force has been working without a contract since July 1, when the union’s two-year pact expired. Negotiations had reached an impasse June 29, mainly over the union’s contention that salaries and other benefits are lower than those offered police of other Southern California cities of comparable size.

In addition to competitive compensation, the union has asked for a workweek of four 10-hour days.