Score: 0
(0/2/0)
Santa Clara County Grand Jury
• 2009-2010
• Agency Response
Response to:
City of Gilroy
Al Pinheiro Mayor Filed July 20, 2010 Aug05 2010 Honorable Jamie Jacobs-May Presiding Judge Santa Clara County Superior
Published: July 20, 2010
10 pages
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
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Agency Responses 1
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.
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City of Gilroy
July 20, 2010
•
10 pages
• 11 responses
•
Score: 0
(+0, 2, 0)
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11 responses to findings and recommendations
R2
- Cities should not increase salaries and wages that are not supported by planned revenue increases. Cities should tie COLAincreases to clear indicators and retain the ability to adjust or withhold based on current economic data.
Response: Implemented
Score: 0
Wages are a mandatory subject of bargaining pursuant to collective bargaining laws. The recommendation has been implemented. Currently, wage increases are not being provided to employees given the current economic data. Further, the Cityhas requested employee groups with closed contracts to return to the bargaining table for purposes of achieving concessions. Employee groups with scheduled increases have been willing to return to the bargaining table and have given up future wage increases to assist the Cityinbalancing the budget and to avoidfurther employee layoffs and service reductions. Fin...
R3
- Cities should negotiate step progressions from the current three and ahalf years to seven years. Employees should not receive COLAincreases while in step progression.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
Changes to the step system may be asubject offuture negotiations with each labor group as an item that isa mandatory subject of bargaining pursuant to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. Findine: 4 - Medical insurance costs for active employees are growing year after year at rates that exceed most cities' revenue growth, while the employee contribution to medical care isminimal. City Response: Agree inpart and disagree inpart. Several years ago the GilroyCityCouncilset a priority of securing and implementing caps on health care costs and negotiated contribution caps with allemployee groups. The caps ...
R4
- Cities should negotiate that employees assume some of these increased costs for their medical benefits. To contain medical costs cities should consider the following: A. Split monthly premiums between the city and the employee and increase the employee's share, if already cost splitting, and remove any employee caps. S. Establish reasonable co-pays for doctors' visits, prescription drugs, and in-patient and out patient hospital care. C. Prohibit an employee from being covered by both city-prov...
Response: Implemented
Score: 0
- Cities should negotiate that employees assume some of these increased costs for their medical benefits. To contain medical costs cities should consider the following: A. Split monthly premiums between the city and the employee and increase the employee's share, if already cost splitting, and remove any employee caps. S. Establish reasonable co-pays for doctors' visits, prescription drugs, and in-patient and out patient hospital care. C. Prohibit an employee from being covered by both city-provided medical benefits and asa dependent of another city employee. D. Reduce cash in-lieu payments. E...
R6a
- Cities should renegotiate with the bargaining units to 1) reduce vacation time; 2) reduce the number of holidays and/or personal days; 3) cap sick leave and eliminate the practice of converting accumulated sick leave to cash or adding into their years of service for inclusion in their retirement benefit.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
Vacation holiday, and personal leave time reduction may be asubject offuture bargaining with labor groups as a mandatory subject of bargaining under the Meyers Milias Brown Act. ForFY10and FY11the city and Gilroyfirefighters association have reached agreement to eliminate 24 hours of annual personal leave time. InGilroy,sick leave cannot be cashed out. The conversion of sick leave for up to one year of service time with the CalPERSpension plan isa benefit that has been negotiated with labor groups. While this may be afuture subject of negotiations, the benefit provides an incentive for employe...
R7a
- Cities should research competitive hiring practices and alter the approach to determine fair wages and benefits for each city by using public and private sector data. Page6of 10
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
Changes to wage and benefit packages are a mandatory subject of bargaining under collective bargaining law. The Cityof Gilroyis willing to consider use of private sector employment data, if available, for purposes of comparing similarly situated job classifications.
R8a
- Cities should explore outsourcing some functions and services to private industry. Cities should discuss the prospect with cities that are successfully doing this to determine best practices and areas for success. Cities should develop contracts with measurable objectives} performance goals} and timelines.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
Gilroyhas implemented contracting with the private sector inseveral areas, including, but not limited to: landscaping, street sweeping, tree trimming, janitorial services, claims administration, legal services, and trash collection waste water treatment plant. Gilroy's contract for services provides a template to establish performance goals and timelines as well as measurable objectives. Gilroywillcontinue to explore cost-effective opportunities for privatization. Contracting out work currently performed by bargaining unit employees issubject to impact bargaining pursuant to collective bargain...
R8b
- Cities should create partnerships with other cities} special districts} and/or the County for services such aspayroll} human resources} animal controt police and fire. Cities should investigate sharing the cost of new information technology systems.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The Citypresently operates partnerships with other cities and special districts and continues to explore viable options that willfurther streamline appropriate to the City's service needs. Likecontracting out, shifting work to another entity when the work iscurrently performed by bargaining unit employees issubject to impact bargaining pursuant to collective bargaining laws. Page7 of 10
Further, insome situations, the actual decision to contract out may also be a mandatory subject of bargaining pursuant to case law (see Rialto PoliceBenefit Association v. Cityof Rialto). Findin~ 9- Cities can...
R12a
- City council members and mayors should become better informed about the fiscal realities in their cities, long-term costs and commitments, and be cognizant of potential issues in labor agreements.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The Gilroycouncil has become well versed in the labor contracts associated with each labor group. Further, detailed costing sheets are provided to the Councilby staff regarding items under discussion inan effort to ensure that the council ismaking well-informed decisions. The council and staff willcontinue to pursue this education and sharing of information for allfuture negotiations.
R12b
- City councils and mayors should direct city administrators to (re)negotiate collective bargaining agreements that reverse the escalation of employee costs through concessions, cost sharing, and a second tier for new employees.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
Thisis underway in Gilroyand the recent agreement with the Gilroyfirefighters association isa good example. The Gilroyfirefighters came to the bargaining table with a closed contract and a new agreement has resulted in various salary and benefit concessions, cost sharing for retirement, and a new two-tier retirement plan for new hires. Inaddition, the GilroyAFSCME organization also came to the bargaining table with a closed contract giving upfuture negotiated increases and proving cost saving concessions. All employees in Gilroy,including the GilroyCityCouncil, provided concessions in the 10%r...
R12c
- City councils and mayors should meet with the bargaining units to clearly outline the cities' financial health and show how employee costs are impacting the budget.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
Thishas occurred in Gilroywith the recent budget deficit, position reductions, and concession bargaining sessions that have taken place. Themayor met with each bargaining unit explaining the need to reduce expenditures and work as a team inensuring a balanced budget. The Gilroycouncil has clearly communicated the city's fiscal situation to the labor groups as aprecursor to negotiating concessions with each of the labor groups. Inaddition, the CityAdministrator and Finance Director have pro-actively met with labor groups to provide budget information. Thissharing of budget information willconti...
R12d
- City councils and mayors should inform citizens of their plans for controlling unsustainable employee costs and remove politics from the equation.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The Gilroycouncil has utilized the public meeting forum and the localpress to communicate to the citizens of Gilroytheir priority of reducing employee costs. As noted above, the Councilholds annual goal setting sessions and employee salary and benefits costs have been a topic of past meetings. The Gilroycouncil willcontinue to make this apriority and willcontinue to keep the public informed of their plans for controlling these and other costs. Additionally, the City would like to bring to your attention the following factual inaccuracies contained in the Grand Jury's report: • On page 13, tabl...