HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Holds Firm in Pay Negotiations

City negotiators responded coolly to a new salary package pitched by the firefighters union during an arbitration meeting held over the weekend, a union leader said Monday.

Before Saturday’s arbitration hearing, the union shaved 1 percentage point from its previous three-year salary package request. But city negotiators, in presenting their case to state arbitrator Louis Zigman, “responded not particularly favorably,” said Guy Burnell, vice president of the Huntington Beach Firefighters Assn.

The association’s 144 firefighters, captains, fire engineers, paramedics and dispatchers have been working since October without a contract. Talks formally broke down in July, prompting a state arbitrator to intervene.

The association’s latest three-year package calls for 24.5% pay hikes for firefighters and fire engineers, and 22.5% raises for all other union members.

Deputy City Administrator Robert Franz, the city’s lead negotiator, said the city is holding to its three-year offer of a 21.5% pay hike for firefighters, 20.5% for fire engineers and 19.5% for all other members.

Earlier this year, the city gave 19.5% raises to all other employees, and officials say that the city’s budget woes prevent them from being able to meet the firefighters’ demand. The city is facing a deficit estimated at $3 million to $5 million.

Firefighters in Huntington Beach, the county’s third largest city, now earn between $31,000 and $40,080 per year.

The City Council has the final say on employees’ contracts. After Zigman concludes his hearings with the city and the union, he has a month to issue an opinion, which is non-binding.