HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 - CC-6 - Appointment of City Negotiators for CMFA - 6/3/2014CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: June 3, 2014 ITEM NUMBER:
SUBJECT: APPPOINTMENT OF CITY NEGOTIATORS FOR THE COSTA MESA FIRE
ASSOCIATION NEGOTIATIONS AND AUTHORIZATION TO PROCEED
WITH THE FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE MOU PER THE COIN
ORDINANCE
DATE: MAY 22, 2014
FROM: THOMAS R. HATCH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
PRESENTATION THOMAS R. HATCH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
BY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION TAMARA S. LETOURNEAU, ASSISTANT CHIEF
CONTACT: EXECUTIVE OFFICER (714) 754-5122
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Designate Tamara Letourneau, Assistant Chief Executive Officer; Richard M.
Kreisler, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore; and, Laura Kalty, Partner, Liebert
Cassidy Whitmore as the City's representatives in negotiations with the Costa Mesa
Fire Association (CMFA).
2. Authorize staff to have the independent fiscal analysis of the current CMFA
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) completed per the requirements of the
COIN Ordinance.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS:
The current Memorandum of Understanding between the City and CMFA expires on
June 30, 2014. This does not include the items agreed to in the side letter dated
September 4, 2012 which expires on July 1, 2017.
On September 4, 2012, the City Council approved Ordinance No. 12-7 regarding Civic
Openness in Negotiations (COIN), which sets forth procedures and practices to keep
the public informed of labor negotiations, consistent with the Meyers-Milias Brown Act
(Government Code Section 3500 et seq.).
Per the COIN ordinance, the City Council must designate a principal representative and
at least one representative on behalf of the City to represent the City in negotiations.
The ordinance states that "in an effort to avoid inherent conflicts of interest, the principal
representative negotiating on behalf of the city 1) shall not be an employee of the City,
2) shall not be a member of any retirement system providing a defined benefit to the
member, and 3) shall have a demonstrated expertise in negotiating labor and
employment agreements on behalf of municipalities.
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The city council shall designate one or more executive employees to be present during
negotiations and to assist the principal negotiator as the city council and/or principal
negotiator deem appropriate." Staff recommends that the City Council designate
Tamara Letourneau, Assistant Chief Executive Officer; Richard M. Kreisler, Partner,
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore; and, Laura Kalty, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore as the
City's representatives in negotiations with the Costa Mesa Fire Association (CMFA).
Further, Section 2-237 of the COIN Ordinance requires that an independent auditor
complete a fiscal analysis of the fiscal impacts of the current MOU. In addition, Section 2-
237 (b) states "the report and findings of the independent auditor shall be completed and
made available for review by the city council and the public at least 30 days prior to
consideration by the city council of an initial meet and confer proposal to be presented to
any recognized employee organization regarding negotiation of an amended, extended,
successor, or original memorandum of understanding." To that end, staff recommends
that the City Council authorize staff to have the independent fiscal analysis of the CMFA
current MOU completed per the requirements of the COIN Ordinance.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED:
An alternative is to change the designated representatives and authorize the completion
of the fiscal analysis.
FISCAL REVIEW:
The funds are budgeted in the General Fund in the Human Resources Division budget for
outside legal counsel for negotiations. The cost to complete the fiscal analysis by the
independent auditor is approximately $2,500 and is budgeted in the General Fund in the
Finance Department budget.
CONCLUSION:
These designations are necessary to comply with the COIN ordinance. Staff recommends
that the Mayor and City Council formally approve these three individuals to represent the
City in negotiations with the CMFA and direct staff to have the independent fiscal analysis
completed of the current CMFA MOU.
TAMARA S. LETOURNEAU
Assistant Chief Executive Officer
THOMAS DUARTE
City Attorney
THOMAS R. HATCH
Chief Executive Officer
STEVE DUNIVENT
Interim Finance Director
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