Cliff Buchan
News EditorTeachers in ISD 831 arenít the only public employees in the Forest Lake area working under new labor agreements.
Workers in three union labor groups in the city of Forest Lake earlier this year reached contract agreement for new wage and benefit packages for 2004 and 2005. Settlements were reached through local bargaining.
Contracts have been reached for Council 14 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employee group, police officers who are part of Local 111 of the Law Enforcement Labor Services union, and street, parks and public works employees who make up Local 49 of the AFL-CIO labor group.
City Administrator Chip Robinson said contract ratification includes a standard 3 percent salary schedule improvement in each year of the contract plus increased city compensation for health, medical and dental insurance.
Contract approval for the three labor groups will mean an extra $50,000 in city spending in 2004 and 2005, the administrator said.
ìI think they are reasonable and in line with other metro contract settlements,î Robinson said. ìWe are pretty much in line with other Stanton Group 6 cities.î
Robinson said he was pleased that settlements could be reached locally without the assistance of outside help such as the state Bureau of Mediation Services. He said the key was the ability of both sides to submit reasonable settlement offers that could be bargained fairly.
AFSCME pact
The cityís AFSCME group includes 14.5 full-time equivalents that include building inspectors, the city planner, three planning department assistants who handle clerical duty, city hall clerical staff, police department administrative support staff and two custodial workers.
Under the new contract and its various labor classifications, a starting employee at the lowest grade would earn $17.13 an hour in 2004 and $17.64 an hour in 2005 before reaching a maximum hourly rate for the highest grade of job at $25.61 an hour in 2004 and $25.96 an hour in 2005.
AFSCME workers advance through three salary steps with a step change granted every six months.
As part of the local negotiations, Robinson said city staff and AFSCME representatives would form a labor management committee for an on-going review of labor and management topics and to improve general communication. One of the first committee tasks will be the formation of a new personnel manual, he said.
Robinson, finance officer Toni Rehbein and zoning administrator Keith Wille are exempt from the AFSCME group.
Police settlement
The new contract for members of LELS police union impacts 21 current patrol officers and any staff changes that are made during the 2004 budget year. The chief of police and two sergeant positions are exempt from the union.
Police officers work under a 48-month salary schedule that allow step changes at six-month intervals.
A patrol officer would receive a starting hourly wage of $20.61 in 2004 and $21.23 in 2005 at the first step. The high end of the hourly wage at 48 months of service is $26.41 an hour in 2004 and $27.20 an hour in 2005.
Officers will receive a $25 increase for uniform allowance in both years of the contract, pushing the total uniform city contribution to $625 in 2005 and $650 in 2005.
The monthly stipend paid to patrol officers assigned full-time investigative duty will increase $25 a year over both years of the contract. An officer assigned part-time investigative duty will receive a $100 monthly stipend for the short-term duty.
49íers contract
The new agreement for the 49íers impacts seven street and maintenance employees, one park employee and four water and sewer employees. The supervisor of public utilities is exempt from the union.
All union employees work under a three-step salary schedule that includes six-month advancements.
The street and maintenance employees would earn a starting hourly wage of $17.74 in 2004 and $18.27 an hour in 2005. The top end of the three-step pay schedule works out to $20.86 an hour in 2004 and $21.48 in 2005.
Water and sewer workers, also on the three-step schedule, would earn a starting hourly rate of $19.68 in 2004 and $20.27 in 2005. At the third and final step, employees would earn hourly rates of $23.15 in 2004 and $23.84 in 2005.
The cityís contribution for uniform allowance increases by $25 a year to $625 in 2004 and $650 in 2005.
Health benefits
In terms of fringe benefits, the city has agreed to pay an additional $50 a month for health and medical insurance with a maximum monthly payment of $710 in 2004 and $760 in 2005.
A city employee with family coverage would be responsible for the balance of the monthly $1024 premium cost in place in 2004. Three other plans with lower monthly premiums are available to city employees covered under the agreements.
For dental insurance, the city will pay an additional $10 a month for 2004 and 2005 for its share of the premium.
Employees will also be allowed to carry over five days of unused vacation time from one year to the next.
The contract also establishes severance pay and flexible benefit plans for employee groups.
Under the severance plan, employees can cash out 50 percent of their unused sick leave hours accumulating to a maximum of 240 hours after 10 years of service, 360 hours after 15 years of service and 440 hours after 20 years of service to the city.
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