Unions to Seek Own Audit of City Finances

Saying they are frustrated by stalled labor negotiations and have questions about the city’s budget projections, officials of the police and fire union said this week they will hire an independent auditor to analyze the city’s finances. The action would be the first of its kind by the city’s labor unions, officials said.

Capt. Dave Bertka, president of the Garden Grove Firefighters Local 2005, said police and fire personnel joined forces to determine the city’s fiscal health after labor contracts expired this summer and negotiations stalled.

As part of their compensation package, the firefighters have requested parity with the Garden Grove Police Department, which would close a salary gap as wide as 21% between the two agencies, Bertka said.

City Manager George Tindall estimated that it would cost more than $1 million to bring firefighters up to the Police Department salary level. “It is a very expensive thing to try to give the parity that they want,” he said.

Firefighters, meanwhile, say they are frustrated by the impasse and also are in limbo over a proposal to contract out services to the Orange County Fire Authority, Bertka said.

The fire authority, in labor talks of its own, has told city officials that a feasibility study on bringing Garden Grove under its umbrella has been postponed.