Contract Talks With Deputies Make No Progress

Contract talks between Ventura County government and the union representing sheriff’s deputies are producing little progress, a labor official said Thursday.

Negotiators have met three times in the past week but the county has yet to make a specific offer, said Glen Kitzmann, spokesman for the 830-member Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn.

Kitzmann said he had hoped to take some kind of deal to a meeting of the union’s leadership next Tuesday. Instead, union officials will discuss options, including the possibility of starting a strike fund, Kitzmann said.

“They basically have a problem with providing average pay and benefits,” Kitzmann said. “They will talk a little bit, but nothing is offered.”

County Executive Officer Johnny Johnston acknowledged the county has not made a formal offer during the latest round of talks. But that doesn’t mean negotiations aren’t taking place, Johnston said.

“When we’re at the table, signals are sent back and forth,” Johnston said. “And the areas where we would like to see some back-and-forth discussion have summarily been dismissed.”

One sticking point is the union’s insistence that pay for deputies be tied to a formula that guarantees raises whenever salaries go up for law enforcement in neighboring counties and cities.

Johnston says the county is willing to offer yearly raises that keep pay competitive. But an automatic formula is bad policy because it weakens the Board of Supervisors’ ability to control the county’s budget, he said.

Deputies also are demanding an expansion of retirement benefits. The new benefit would allow an officer with 25 years’ experience to retire at 50 and receive a pension check worth 75% of active pay. Deputies currently get 50%.

The county can’t afford the $44-million onetime cost of providing that, Johnston said. And the price tag would likely spiral much higher--in excess of $100 million--because other employee groups will demand similar benefits, the county chief said.

Supervisors will get an update on the county’s financial health next week, Johnston said. The public session Tuesday will include a detailed discussion of the effect of labor proposals on the county’s retirement system, he said.

A proposed pay package will be delivered to the union in the weeks ahead, Johnston said, declining to elaborate. Kitzmann said another negotiating session is tentatively set for Nov. 20.

California law prohibits public safety employees from walking off the job, but the union may challenge its validity, the labor spokesman said.

The union’s contract expired Dec. 31. Talks broke off in May over the disputed items and resumed last week after the deputies lost a court bid to have a three-member arbitration panel settle the contract.