JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When it comes to pension negotiations, the police union is following the fire department’s lead in disagreeing with Mayor Lenny Curry’s plan for the sheriff’s office to go to a 401(k)-type retirement plan.
In August, voters approved a half-cent sales tax as part of the city’s deal to pay off the city's $2.7 billion pension deficit. But part of the deal was that the unions must agree to close the city's nine pension plans to new employees, and negotiations with those unions are underway.
The president of the Fraternal Order of Police lashed out on Wednesday, saying pensions are “not a dinosaur,” which is how Curry has referred to them.
Steve Zona said that salaries for Jacksonville officers are 42 percent below average police salaries in a city that has one of the highest crime rates and is dealing with rising officer resignations.
The union wants either to stay with the existing pension plan for all employees or be moved into the Florida retirement plan, the pension plan teachers and other state employees use.
"We want out of the pension negotiation business. We don't want to be involved anymore," Zona said. "Let's take care of the current members, with the new ones in (the Florida Retirement System), and we're out of it with very little risk to the city."
DOCUMENTS: City's proposal | FOP's pension proposals
Curry said the state's pension plan is not an option and the city's current proposal keeps his promise to give officers raises.
"My proposal put 14 percent pay raises on the table, because I heard them loud and clear," Curry said. "So I expect we will come to terms: Get out of the pension business, compensate or policemen and firemen and be able to move forward."
Both sides seem unwilling to move from their positions. Normally, an impasse on contract negations would be settled by Jacksonville City Council, but the law does not allow council to do anything about pensions.
"We believe in our mind we have a solid legal position going forward, and we're going to maintain that," Zona said. "Obviously, in negotiations, there has to be a give somewhere."
The mayor had hoped to resolve the issues with the police union and eight other existing pensions by the first of the year, but observers don't believe that's going to happen.