Vallejo public employee unions blast council over proposed city manager raise

VALLEJO – City employee unions delivered an angry message to Vallejo City Council members regarding a proposed wage increase for city manager Mike Malone that is up for council approval at Tuesday’s council meeting.

In two letters delivered on Monday, the unions excoriated the city council and staff for proposing the 3% wage increase for Malone just after the city declared a state of emergency over low staffing in the police department as other city departments face staffing shortages, which the unions said is related to low wages and deteriorating morale.

“We have tried to educate you as to the reason why this City is in such turmoil,” the Vallejo Police Officers Association, the International Association of FireFighters Local 1186, and the Confidential Administrative, Managerial and Professionals Association wrote in a joint letter. “We have pointed the finger at City leadership. By placing this item on the agenda, you have chosen not to listen to the citizens or employees of Vallejo.”

The unions went on to describe the pay increase as a betrayal by council members who, the unions said, expressed dissatisfaction with the direction charted by the city manager in closed door meetings with the unions, but then chose to signal support for and reward the same management decisions.

The union letter points out that the Vallejo Police Officers Association has been without a contract for 17 months. They said that increasing the city manager's wage while negotiations drag on sends a message to current officers and potential recruits that the council does not value police efforts to improve public safety.

“The morale of City of Vallejo employees is at an all-time low,” the unions said. “The fact that you or City leadership would consider such a deplorable action item shows how out of touch you are about the current state of affairs. You talk about recruitment and retention – this will be the straw that pushes several staff out the door.”

Kim Camatti, business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, wrote a separate letter expressing dissatisfaction with the proposed increase in the city manager’s salary.

The IBEW letter said that the chronic staffing shortages and employee retention problems are due to inadequate pay across all represented employees of the city.

Camatti recalled statements made by Malone and the finance department director Rekha Nayar in June suggesting that providing tax relief for Mare Island residents would require the city to cut nine public safety positions. “Many employees are still reeling from [that] proposal,” she wrote.

Mare Island residents have brought complaints to council for years about a tax structure that levies additional payments for police and fire services on the island’s land holders. Mare Island residents demanded relief from the extra tax and the issue came to a head during the revision process for the city budget in June.

Malone had stated there were limited options to provide Mare Islanders with relief and also maintain adequate reserve funds to satisfy potential lenders and credit rating agencies.

The council insisted that Malone bring back an option to offer some tax relief for the Island. He returned to council with a proposal to cut public safety positions. He said that reducing the city’s revenue to provide the tax relief requires a corresponding cut to an ongoing expenditure rather than just a one-time cost.  

At the time of the suggestion, the same four unions signed a letter condemning Malone’s proposal as a form of sarcastic brinksmanship at a time when public staffing levels were already low.

“This whole farce is not only deplorable, it is highly immoral,” the unions wrote in their letter to Malone in June. “You are using line staff as pawns in a political game. This literally gambles with employees’ livelihood and misdirects citizens and Councilmembers.”

The city’s 2022-23 adopted budget lists the City Manager’s salary as $280,780.10 with a benefits package of $109,707.11 totaling $390,487.21. The staff report states that the 3% increase would cost the city $10,700 for one year.

The City Council is scheduled to meet at 7:00 p.m. in the council chambers at 555 Santa Clara St. Members of the public can participate in the meeting in person, via Zoom or by calling (669) 900-6833.