IRVINE : Pay Raise Offer Is Too Low, Police Say

The city’s police officers would rather keep working without a contract than accept the city’s 3% pay raise offer, the police association president said Tuesday.

The city has agreed to give all employees a 3% pay raise for 1993 and pick up the 2% increase in employee health-benefit costs. All city employees went without a raise in 1992 because of Irvine’s financial problems.

But the Irvine Police Assn. refused to agree to last year’s pay freeze and has not agreed to this year’s proposed raise. Police have been working without a contract for 13 months.

Accepting the city’s 3% increase when the cost of living went up 6.3% over the past two years would mean police officers would be earning less, said Lt. Patrick A. Rodgers, president of the police association.

“The city wants us to take a pay cut, and we’re not prepared to do that,” Rodgers said. “If that means another year without a contract, our members are probably willing to do that.”

City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr. said this week that the city offered the same pay increase package to all employees and that it cannot afford to make a better offer to police officers.

City and police union negotiators have broken off contract talks and agreed to meet in March with an independent fact-finder to help the two sides reach an agreement.