Costa Mesa council postpones new police contract

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- Police officers and sergeants will have to wait two

weeks to find out if the City Council will approve a new three-year

contract that would raise their salary 8.4%.

On Tuesday, Councilwoman Karen Robinson called for the issue to be

delayed to the council’s next meeting, Sept. 17. Without discussion, the

other council members agreed.

The city and the Costa Mesa Police Assn. have negotiated the contract

for three months. The raise will increase the city’s budget by a little

more than $1 million. The previous two-year contract expired Friday.

The contract does not include lieutenants or other non-sworn

employees, said Steven Hayman, the city’s director of administrative

services.

“Other than the increases, the only other change we’ve made is add a

new holiday -- Martin Luther King Day,” he said.

The length of the contract varies each time but employees usually

prefer shorter terms than longer, Hayman said.

“As long as they are comfortable with the future, they are OK with the

longer terms,” he said.

The benefits will remain the same as in the older contract, Hayman

said.

The contract covers about 140 police officers, senior officers, master

patrol officers, helicopter pilots and sergeants who work for the Costa

Mesa Police Department.

Contract negotiations have occurred over eight sessions, which is an

average amount of time, Hayman said.

BOX

NEW SALARIES

Annual pay ranges for officers and sergeants:

Police officer: $53,088 to $64,524

Senior police officer: $55,740 to $64,524

Master police officer: $58,524 to $71,136

Police sergeant: $67,452 to $78,084

Police helicopter pilot: $61,320 to $74,532 Police helicopter sergeant: $74,196 to $85,884