Cerritos City Council Approves Employment, Personnel Changes

The Cerritos City Council July 28 held a brief meeting at which that body approved changes to the city employment system and personnel policies.

The adjustments to the system include a three-year agreement guaranteeing certain benefits to city employees.

City Personnel and Risk Manager Patricia Leyva laid out the specifics of the agreement:

• A guarantee of no furloughs or lay-offs to all full-time employees.
• Laptop pay will be modified to conform to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• The practice of taking the city truck home will end.
• A deduction for a union-sponsored short-term disability policy will be put into effect.
• City caps will be provided.
• Incentive adjustments owed to employees because of a late- performance evaluation will be processed automatically if the evaluation is not completed within seven months after the effective date.
• New employees will be required to pay 7 percent of employees' contribution to the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS).
• Years two and three of the agreement include a wage re-opener on COLA only.
• In year three, according to the contract, the city will commission a study of a possible 9/80 work schedule. 
• A side letter will be issued upon request to include information on quarterly and formal meetings with the union.

Five resolutions were also presented with the agreement. These include:

• Proposed changes to the full-time, non-exempt Memorandum of Understanding.
• Changes in terms of conditions of employment for all full-time, non-represented and management employees. 
• The last three resolutions are those required by the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) to put into effect the changes regarding the 7 percent Employer Paid Member Contribution (EPMC). They also refer to the vested schedule for retiree health benefits.

Resident Ram Kakkar, who has been attending meetings for years, said these changes could mean a loss for future generations.

"There should be some clause that these increases should be based on the available revenue," Kakkar said. "The city is not a manufacturing facility where the money will come and we'll say 'Okay we will pay.' Everybody is a winner, except the future generations are the losers."

Mayor Carol Chen said the city's decisions are for the best.

"We have made changes for future pensions," Chen said. "New employees will be contributing 7 percent towards their retirement. We understand that there (is a) $41 million unfunded mandate ... however that amount is if all the employees retire at the same time."

Orangeline Development Authority

The council also approved changes and updates in the bylaws of the Third Amended Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement for the Orangeline Development Authority, a project of which the city has been a part since 2003.

The Orangeline Development Authority is a joint powers agency formed to examine the feasibility of developing a high-speed transit system to carry travelers between Los Angeles and Orange counties. Among the changes in the authority's bylaws is the inclusion of 16 more cities within the region.

The cities to be included are Bell Gardens, Commerce, Compton, Fullerton, Hawaiian Gardens, La Habra, La Mirada, Lakewood, Long Beach, Lynwood, Norwalk, Orange, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe springs, Seal Beach and Westminster.

"The potential to add these additional cities is a key step towards increasing the connectivity of the Orangeline and as a valuable addition that would help to further enhance the viability of the project," said Ryan Carey, city management analyst.

The next council meeting is set for August 11.