Posted: July 20, 2009
In response to an offer from the city, the Port St. Lucie employees’ union has agreed to accept a pay freeze for the fiscal year 2009/2010 in exchange for a guarantee that the city will not lay off any additional non-police employees next year.
The agreement with the Public Employee’s Association has not been put in writing, but City Manager Don Cooper expects the final language of the agreement to be acceptable to both sides. The International Union of Police Associations, which represents the city’s police officers, is not part of the agreement.
Prior to the wage-freeze agreement, the city’s labor contract with the PEA called for a five percent pay raise for all non-police employees next year. Once the agreement is final, the employees will get no raises between Oct. 1 and September 30, 2010.
The agreement comes after a two-day City Council meeting in which the Council addressed an $11 million budget shortfall for next year. At that meeting, the Council agreed to use a combination of budget cuts, wage freezes and adjustments to property tax rates to compensate for the loss.