The Beverly Hills City Council will consider written contracts with five of its nine employee associations at its formal session on Dec. 10. The agreements, each of which is known as a “memorandum of understanding” (MOU) pertain to the Management & Professional Association, Supervisors Association, Confidential Employees Association, Municipal Employees Association and Municipal Employees Association Part-Time Unit.
Beverly Hills is required by state law to meet and confer with the associations in good faith to reach agreement on wages, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment. The process can take several months. “The public is encouraged to provide input,” said Beverly Hills Chief Labor Negotiator Peter Brown at an Informational Community Meeting on April 11.
All nine of the MOUs expired on Sept. 30. The five new MOUs that have been ratified by their respective associations cover a period of two years for the Municipal Employees Association Part-Time Unit and four years for the remaining associations.
In accordance with a process adopted by City Council Ordinance in December 2013, the MOUs and an independent fiscal analysis thereof are posted on the City’s website for at least two weeks before the Council meeting at which the proposed MOU is considered. Accordingly, that analysis and a summary of significant terms is available on the City’s website at https://www.beverlyhills.org/ negotiations.
The City is still negotiating with three safety associations, the Beverly Hills Police Officers’ Association, Firefighters Association and Police Management Association, as well as the Safety Support Association. In documents on the City’s website, the “Projected Cost of Each MOU” lists “Average Total Cost Per Employee” as $243,945, $317,639 and $391,311 respectively for the three safety associations and $134,422 for the Safety Support Association.
In a news release this week, the City acknowledged the Sept. 30 expiration date for the current MOUs and added that “negotiations are ongoing.”
When asked for more details, the City responded, “The nature of negotiations is inherently unpredictable, but we are hopeful we can conclude negotiations early next year.”
The five MOUs are on the agenda at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chamber on Dec. 10.
