The City of Portland ordains.
Section 1. The Council finds:
- The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) has a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Portland Police Association (PPA) that informs the payroll processes and defines certain pay and benefits for PPB sworn officers up to the rank of Sergeant.
- The PPB and PPA have determined that certain Articles within their CBA need revisions to broaden their applicability and increase pay and benefit equity for particular supervisory positions.
- Specifically, Article 37.2 will be modified to remove a restriction of only those supervisory Sergeants, Detectives or Criminalists supervising Detectives or Criminalists within the Investigations and Forensic Evidence Division being able to receive the supervising rate prescribed in the article.
- Article 65.2 will be amended to add a section to address terms and conditions surrounding payment of wage contributions and accrued leave transfers to the PPA’s Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust.
- The Letter of Agreement (LOA) also discusses retroactive pay for specific PPA sworn members to rectify inequities brought on by the restrictive language in Article 37.2.
- Funding for the retroactive payments resides within the Bureau's current appropriations as this adds approximately $15,000 of ongoing premium pay to the bureau's personnel costs. This difference can be offset through a reduction in the bureau's discretionary EM&S budget.
- The PPA, PPB and City Attorney have worked together to draft this LOA, which will be in effect until the negotiation and adoption of their successor CBA, when the LOA will be incorporated into that new agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:
- The Director of the Bureau of Human Resources (or designee) is authorized to enter into a Letter of Agreement with the Portland Police Association in a form similar to the Letter of Agreement attached as Exhibit A.
Exhibits and Attachments
Impact Statement
Purpose of Proposed Legislation and Background Information
A reorganization of the Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB) Detectives Division has triggered a need to revise the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that informs how supervising sworn members who lead specialized sworn personnel, such as Criminalists and Detectives, are paid.
To rectify any discrepancies and to ensure more equitable pay in similar circumstances, the CBA between the City and the Portland Police Association (PPA) has been reviewed. Revisions to articles within that CBA were proposed.
BHR and PPB, working with the PPA and the City Attorney, negotiated a Letter of Agreement (LOA) which will remedy any current pay discrepancies and any near-future situations by altering Articles 37 and 65 of the CBA. These Articles deal directly with supervisory assignment of sworn staff over other specialized sworn staff, as well as how wage contributions are paid over to the appropriate Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust for these and other types of sworn Police employees.
The LOA includes a provision for the next negotiated CBA to incorporate the changes agreed to in the LOA, ensuring that pay equity in these situations carries on in the long term.
Financial and Budgetary Impacts
The LOA includes a provision to retroactively make whole three (3) sworn members who have supervised specialized sworn personnel but had not been paid at the premium level prescribed by the CBA.
The current supervisory sergeant premium adds approximately $5,000 of premium expense per eligible sergeant. This LOA effectively adds a new supervisory sergeant per precinct. Given the current personnel cost pressures driven by overtime and staffing, the bureau will need to identify a trade-off in its external materials and supplies budget. The estimated $15,000 needed will likely come from the Chief's Office discretionary budget and is not likely to result in a reduction of current levels of service.
Economic and Real Estate Development Impacts
Not applicable.
Community Impacts and Community Involvement
This is a product of internal reorganization within PPB; service levels to the community should not be impacted by these changes.
100% Renewable Goal
Not applicable.
Financial and Budget Analysis
This ordinance authorizes a Letter of Agreement between the Portland Police Association and the Portland Police Bureau to pay a premium to supervisory sworn personnel, such as Sergeants overseeing specialized roles like Detectives and Criminalists. The changes, outlined in the negotiated Letter of Agreement (LOA), include retroactive pay adjustments for three supervisory Sergeants and an ongoing premium pay increase of $5,000 per eligible Sergeant, adding $15,000 in ongoing personnel costs to the Portland Police Bureau’s budget. Due to personnel cost pressures driven by overtime and staffing, the Bureau plans to hold $15,000 from the Chief's discretionary EM&S budget in reserve to transfer during the OEO.