Ventura OKs Pay Increases Despite Projected Deficit : Government: The City Council’s action is intended to bring wages in line with those of similar-size cities.

In an effort to bring salaries more in line with those of like-sized communities, the Ventura City Council on Monday unanimously approved about $1.3 million in annual pay raises for most of the city’s employees.

Three agreements approved Monday night call for Ventura’s 107 police officers to get 5% pay hikes beginning July 3, another 2% raise in July, 1996, and $25 per week to officers assigned to canine and motorcycle units.

Most of the city’s other employees, except the firefighters and police administrators, who have ongoing contracts, also received pay hikes of between 2% and 10%.

Although the raises came as the city is projecting a $1.8-million deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1, officials said the increases were necessary.

“We’re just trying to get people up to median range,” Councilman Gregory L. Carson said before Monday’s meeting. Without these pay increases, “we would drop way below that median range.”

Police in Ventura had been working without a contract since November. But negotiators for the city and the Ventura Police Officers Assn. recently hammered out the new salary scale after months of talks.

“Morale has been down because of the budget cuts, and we’re trying to bring that back up,” Carson said.

Terry Adelman, Ventura’s director of management resources, said department heads already have begun combing their budgets for savings to make up the projected deficit.

“Those are ongoing efforts to try and streamline the organization,” Adelman said. “At the same time, we are beginning studies that will lead us to more long-term solutions to reducing our costs.”

Nearly 61% of the city’s $51-million general fund budget for 1995-96 is earmarked to pay for salary and benefits, Adelman said.

Lynne Klamser, a police veteran of almost 21 years who helped negotiate the agreement, said she is satisfied with the raises.

“All we’re really interested in is being comparable to the middle ranges of other counties that we’re compared with,” Klamser said. “The city has been experiencing a downfall in sales tax (revenue), and until that changes, we’ll settle for the median.”

A police officer with five years’ experience currently receives about $3,454 each month. After this summer’s raise, that officer would be paid $3,627 month, an increase of about $173. Next year, the 2% raise would add an additional $73 each month.

The deal with the Ventura Police Officers Assn. also calls for the city to contribute an extra $10 a month toward the health insurance premiums paid by officers.

“They expect an increase in insurance rates,” she said. “This will make up for that, so we don’t have to put in quite as much.”

Mayor Tom Buford said the city’s top officials already have braced for the impact of the $1.3-million in raises on the 1995-96 budget.

“This hasn’t been unforeseen,” Buford said early Monday. “We knew this was coming down the line. We’re satisfied that we’re headed in the right direction.”

Buford said the council carefully considered the pay raises and opted to approve them only after it determined that similar positions in other cities offer larger salaries.

“The real effort of any city council is to try to fulfill their responsibility to the citizens as far as running an efficient operation,” he said. “We have confidence in the people that work for us and we want to remain competitive in the market.”

Barry Hammitt, executive director of the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 140 Ventura workers, won 2% raises for his members even though their contract does not expire until the end of next year.

But the pay hikes will not take effect until July, 1996--six months before the three-year deal expires.

“I thought they deserved a larger raise than they got,” Hammitt said. “We’re servicing more people and doing it with fewer folks. These employees do a damn good job.”