NATIONAL CITY APPROVES CONTRACT WITH POLICE UNION

Officers to get salary increases, higher pay for swing, graveyard shifts

National City police will see overall pay increases as well as bonuses for working graveyard and swing shifts under a new, three-year contract.

The City Council last week approved the agreement with the National City Police Officers Association,

which has about 80 members. The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1 and runs through December 2024.

Under the new contract, salaries will be aligned with the county’s third- and fourth-highest paid agencies. A survey conducted in January listed San Diego County Sheriff ’s Department as the highest paid, Oceanside police as the second highest, Carlsbad as third and National City as the fourth.

Changing from the current secondand third-ranked departments to the third- and fourth-ranked ones will save the city money, said Molly Brennan, administrative services director.

How much in cost savings is unknown until the city finds out what other agencies will be paying, she said, adding that the city could potentially make yearly salary increases of 3 percent over the course of the contract.

“As cities execute their own agreements, we will know better, but generally it’s an increase in salaries,” said Assistant City Manager Tony Winney.

Vice Mayor Marcus Bush and Councilmember Jose Rodriguez called the structure economically risky. National City faces a $4 million deficit in its current budget. It will see a $1.4 million surplus in next year’s budget, but the city doesn’t project having more in the coming years.

“Economically, it just doesn’t make sense to compare ourselves with other cities that have much more economic opportunities, like Coronado and Carlsbad, and even cities like Poway,” said Rodriguez.

Police union officials did not respond to requests for comment. In a previous interview, former union president Sgt. Omar Ramirez said adjusting salaries based on what

other top agencies pay allows NCPD to hire and retain officers and remain competitive.

More money for swing and graveyard shifts is part of the new contract. Those assigned to work swing shifts will get a boost in pay from 2 percent to 4 percent of base salary starting January 2023. Employees working graveyard shifts will see a pay increase from 4 percent to 6 percent by the same year.

Police employees who hold either Intermediate or Advanced Peace Officer Standards and Training certificates will receive an increase in their compensation. Those with an intermediate certificate will see an increase in their base monthly pay from 2 percent to 5 percent by July 2024. Those with an advanced certificate will see an increase from 8 percent to 10 percent by July 2023.

The new contract added June 19, or Juneteenth, to its list of floating holidays, which has included Veterans, Presidents and Columbus days.

Health benefits remain unchanged.

The former contract also called on the city to pay $5,000 to an officer’s family if that individual died in the line of duty. A new term in the 2021-22 contract says the city will pay a family the $5,000 or the value of accrued sick leave up to a maximum of 1,000 hours, whichever is higher.