The recent overhaul of the state's labor court likely would offer minimal savings in city firefighters' wages, Mayor Jim Suttle told the City Council in a report Tuesday.
The council had requested the comparison of the current fire contract and the new law, which altered the state Commission of Industrial Relations, which sets wages and other terms of employment for public workers.
The goal of Suttle's report was to help the council decide whether the city should sign a new contract with its fire union or wait until the new law goes into effect this fall, said Suttle spokeswoman Aida Amoura.
City Councilwoman Jean Stothert questioned the findings.
“You're getting an analysis from Mayor Suttle,” she said. “This is his contract, and he wants it passed. What this report is saying is they studied it and there's no reason to wait. I wouldn't expect any different.”
In the report, the city weighed compensation for firefighters in three areas: wages, health benefits and pension benefits. The city attempted to compare Omaha's policies to those of Lincoln, Milwaukee, Madison, St. Paul and Des Moines — the five comparable cities under the old CIR rules.
The city found that wages are in line with what the CIR would award under the new rules.
Under the proposed contract, Omaha employees would pay a higher percentage of health insurance costs than their counterparts in the five other cities.
The analysis of the pension system was inconclusive.
“Based on this preliminary review, the City does not feel that a true comparison can be provided at this time,” the report states.
Still, the city looked at actuarial reports of similar pension funds in the five cities to get a feel for how Omaha's pension plan stacks up.
“We've looked at normal cost and looked at the benefits, and those aren't out of line,” said city finance director Pam Spaccarotella. “So we feel pretty comfortable that our benefits aren't out of line.”
Stothert disagreed. She said the lack of solid analysis on pensions illustrates why the city should wait to take the case to the CIR.
Under the new law, she said, Omaha can finally have its pension system evaluated against others, and the city could get credit for what she says are more generous benefits.
“We are now able to look at the full-package value of what they receive, which we have not done before,” she said. “We ought to make sure that we are getting the best deal for the taxpayers that we can.”
To be sure, interpreting the new CIR legislation is tricky. The new bill would require Omaha to be compared to at least seven cities, so the array of similar cities would change should a case go before the commission.
How that change would affect Omaha's case is anyone's guess. According to the population limits outlined in the bill, Omaha could be compared to cities with as many as 816,000 residents and compared to combined city centers with more than 1.7 million. The law would also allow comparisons to much smaller cities.
The CIR decides which cities are used for comparison in each case, based on arguments by the disputing parties.
“(Under the new CIR rules,) we're looking at some pretty significant cities, so you can see where our risk would be,” Spaccarotella said.
In the report, the city reiterated its position that the proposed fire contract solves problems that the CIR won't solve. The proposed contract calls for higher employee contributions to health care and pension costs and ends the practice of “spiking,” under which firefighters could earn pension benefits based on a single peak year of pay.
The CIR resolves only wage issues, not pension issues.
“While the new CIR legislation, we believe, will be beneficial in future contract disputes, this nondisputed contract presents the best results for Omaha taxpayers and still provides a fair solution to the City's firefighters,” Suttle said in a statement.
Contact the writer:
402-444-3144, matt.wynn@owh.com
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