Council to Discuss Police Contract

Santa Paula officials are scheduled tonight to wade into the thick of contract talks between city negotiators and the police officers union, with parties on both sides saying they hope to avoid the acrimony that has plagued bargaining sessions of past years.

Although the union earlier this month declared talks to be at an impasse, Santa Paula Police Officers Assn. negotiator Bill Davis said some movement has been made recently.

Davis declined to discuss details but said the main sticking points concern retirement benefits.

The City Council could vote to offer a new contract after tonight’s meeting or decide to continue negotiations.

If the two sides ultimately can’t strike a deal, the stalemate will go to binding arbitration under a state law signed by the governor last year.

“I think we could be close if we could just work a couple of things out,” said Davis, who represents the department’s 38 officers, two commanders, three community service officers and about a dozen dispatchers.

“Nobody wants to go to arbitration,” he added. “Arbitration is a contest you could easily lose.”

City Council members declined to comment on the negotiations, although some said privately they hoped to avoid the conflicts that have arisen in the past.

Two years ago, at the peak of a long-running labor dispute, the majority of Santa Paula’s police officers signed a document stating they did not want city leaders to attend their funeral should they be killed in the line of duty.

That came on the heels of a campaign by officers to post signs throughout the city warning drivers they were entering a high-crime area. The move was intended to underscore the police union’s contention that more officers were needed to help lower Santa Paula’s crime rate.

The council in the fall of 1999 voted for a one-year contract that gave officers a 2% raise--about half of what they were asking.

Last year, the two sides were able to reach agreement on another one-year contract months before the existing one expired, giving officers another 2% raise.

That contract expires in October. The two sides have been meeting since September, but, despite intervention by a state mediator, had made little headway until recently.

Davis said officers have been seeking better retirement benefits and a pay hike of 5% annually over three years. He declined to disclose the city’s latest offer, as did Santa Paula officials.

Davis said the boost in pay and benefits is meant to start closing the salary gap between Santa Paula officers and other peace officers in Ventura County. He said a city study revealed that Santa Paula’s officers earn 24% to 38% less than the county average for law enforcement personnel.

City officials refused to provide a copy of the salary study, saying it was part of the ongoing negotiations and therefore not a matter of public record.

Santa Paula Police Chief Bob Gonzalez, who is not involved in the negotiations, said he’d like to see the situation resolved quickly and officers get the pay raise they deserve.

“My guys are doing some great work, and I’d like to see them paid what they are due,” Gonzalez said.