West Palm Beach Contract Negotiations With Police And Fire Unions Reach Impasse

From City of West Palm Beach:

September 4, 2020

On Wednesday, September 2, 2020, after multiple negotiation sessions held in good faith during a period of at least six months, the City of West Palm Beach notified Florida’s Public Employee Relations Commission and both the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) that it was declaring impasse as to such negotiations. The City aimed to have successor collective bargaining agreements (CBA) in place when the current agreements expire on September 30, 2020. While progress was made on many non-financial terms of the CBAs, the City and Unions could not agree on the compensation above and beyond the 5% step pay increases.

On August 27, 2020, the City put forth its best, good faith offers which included compensation terms above and beyond the step pay increases. The City’s proposals were rejected by both unions:

• To the PBA, the City offered to provide most PBA officers with a 5% market adjustment pay increase at the beginning of October in addition to the 5% step pay increase upon their yearly anniversary date, for an overall pay increase of 10%.
• To the IAFF, the City offered a 5.25% market adjustment pay increase at the beginning of October for most of their members in addition to the 5% step pay increase upon their yearly anniversary date, for an overall pay increase of 10.25%

The City’s offers were made amongst the backdrop of major revenue losses, fiscal constraints, and the development of the proposed, balanced $194M FY‘21 General Fund budget presented in August. The City has experienced a precipitous, unanticipated $7.1M drop in annual revenue resulting from COVID-19 and global economic impacts, plus approximately $2.8M in rising obligated operating expenses —for a combined shortfall of $9.96M. To address the shortfall while developing the proposed balanced budget, the City cut virtually all discretionary funding including travel and training, reduced funding for operating supplies, reallocated budget for seven positions to other special revenue sources, and eliminated 43 vacant positions and five occupied positions. These cuts excluded positions in the West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD) and the West Palm Beach Fire Department (WPBFD).

City representatives sought renewal of the three-year contracts with PBA and IAFF with a reopener on compensation in FY’22 and FY’23, which would allow the City to assess the budget situation on a yearly basis if finances improve.

In rejecting the City’s proposals, the Unions were unwavering from their initial proposals to the City:

• PBA proposed a 15.5% market adjustment pay raise—three times what was offered by the City.
• IAFF proposed a 10% market adjustment pay raise—double what was offered by the City.

The proposals also included other items that would have significant costs for the City. For example, PBA proposed providing officers with extra certification pay based on years of service at an estimated yearly cost of approximately $894 thousand, and IAFF proposed raising the percentages of current special incentives offered to firefighters, at a cost of approximately $686 thousand annually.

Combined, the 5% and 5.25% respective market pay adjustments alone that were offered by the City for PBA and IAFF total an estimated $1.2M increase to the balanced General Fund budget. To cover this increase, the City was prepared to rebalance the budget. However, this would entail further personnel reductions, which may include a combination of layoffs, salary cuts, furloughs, as well as related service cuts.

PBA’s and IAFF’s combined proposals total an estimated $6.3M increase to the balanced General Fund budget (which doesn’t include increased pension obligations). To meet the unions’ demands, the City would be forced to rebalance the budget through deep, across-the-board cuts to personnel and various services excluding public safety. Alternatively, the City could use limited available unassigned fund balance and/or emergency reserves, which is not considered a best financial practice and is not a financially viable way to fund ongoing salary increases.

“I support the work of the men and women of the West Palm Beach Police and Fire Departments,” said West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James. “We are looking at a dual crisis of public health and economic uncertainty that is forcing our city, our residents and our businesses to make tough choices. I understand the concerns of our first responders and want to continue to work together to find a solution. As Mayor, I’m focused on our entire city and to ensuring West Palm Beach continues to be a financially responsible, safe and secure city.”

The City in good faith believes it had no other responsible choice but to declare impasse. The City now seeks to have a Special Magistrate appointed so that the parties may present their cases to the magistrate and obtain a recommended resolution. The impasse process is governed by Florida Statute 447.403.

Mayor James and City Administration remain fully supportive of the City’s public safety employees and share their departments’ mission of providing exemplary public safety services to the West Palm Beach community. As the City works to resolve the impasse, residents and businesses can rest assured that public safety services will not be impacted.

The current FY’20 WPB police department budget of $62,999,150 represents 32.4% of the City’s total General Fund expenditures. The current FY’20 WPB fire department budget of $43,673,341 represents 22.4% of the City’s total General Fund expenditures.

The City enjoys strong relationships with all four labor unions, including the PBA and IAFF. Earlier this week, the City reached tentative agreements with both the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Professional Managers and Supervisors Association (PMSA) in contract negotiations. The three-year agreements will be submitted to the unions’ membership for a ratification vote and are subject to the review and approval of the City Commission.

This press release was produced by the City of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.