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Report regarding a resolution approving the City of South San Francisco wage and salary schedule for fiscal year 2026-2027 (Leah Lockhart, Human Resources Director)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the City of South San Francisco Wage and Salary Schedule for fiscal year 2026-27 to provide for negotiated wage and salary adjustments.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In accordance with the City’s Personnel Rules and Regulations, the City maintains a wage and salary schedule (“salary schedule”) for all positions of employment with the City, and any amendments to the schedule are subject to City Council approval. The salary schedule is updated at the beginning of each fiscal year and amended as needed to implement negotiated rate increases or other recommended changes to job classifications and pay rates. The attached resolution includes the proposed salary schedule for fiscal year 2026-2027, reflecting the following changes:
Negotiated Wage and Salary Adjustments
Following a period of negotiations, on August 13 and September 25, 2025, City Council approved Memorandums of Understanding (“MOUs”) with each of the City’s represented employee bargaining units to provide for wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment for a term beginning July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. City Council also approved compensation plans for unrepresented employee units, including the Executive Management Unit and the Public Safety Managers Unit, for the same two-year period. Each of these MOUs and Compensation Plans provides for a four percent (4%) across-the-board increase to salary ranges for regular full-time and permanent part-time employees effective the first pay period in July 2026 (effective date July 3, 2026). Therefore, the proposed salary schedule includes a four percent (4%) increase for all positions represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (“AFSCME”) Local 829, the International Association of Firefighters (“IAFF”) Local 1507, the International Union of Operating Engineers (“IUOE”) Local 39, the South San Francisco Police Association (“SSFPA”) and Teamsters Local 856 Mid-Management and Confidential units. This increase is also applied to Executive Management positions (Department Heads, Assistant City Manager, and Deputy City Manager) and Public Safety Managers (Police and Fire command staff).
The City maintains individual employment agreements with the Council-appointed City Manager and the elected City Clerk. Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Employment Agreement approved by City Council on July 9, 2025, the City Clerk receives the same annual cost-of-living adjustment as members of the Executive Management Unit, therefore a four percent (4%) increase is reflected in the City Clerk Salary. Pursuant to the Employment Agreement with the City Manager approved by City Council on November 12, 2025, the City Manager salary shall be increased by the same percentage and at the same time any discretionary across-the-board increase is granted to the City's employees covered by the Executive Management Compensation Plan, subject to a satisfactory performance evaluation. This performance evaluation was completed in June 2026 with satisfactory results; therefore, a four percent (4%) increase is reflected in the City Manager salary.
Part-Time Hourly Employees
Consistent with historical practice, staff recommends that the four percent (4%) across-the-board adjustment be applied to all part-time hourly job classifications in order to maintain parity between full-time and hourly positions performing the same or similar duties. In addition, staff recommends a 6.5% adjustment for the hourly per-diem Communications Dispatcher job classification. Hourly per-diem Communications Dispatchers are experienced police dispatchers who work on an on-call or as-needed basis to fill staffing needs for leaves of absence, vacancies, or circumstances requiring additional staffing. Previously, the hourly per-diem pay rate was set at five percent (5%) above the full-time Communications Dispatcher rate, to account for the fact that they do not receive benefits or premium pay, and this practice has been consistent with that of neighboring agencies. Between 2022 and 2025, full-time Communications Dispatchers received incremental salary adjustments based on a labor market salary survey, but these adjustments had not been applied to the per-diem dispatchers, who are not covered by the same collective bargaining agreement. The recommended increase will restore the five percent (5%) differential as was previously established and ensure the City’s ability to recruit and retain qualified per-diem Communications Dispatchers.
Other changes
The job titles for Safety Inspector I, II, and III have been updated to Fire Inspector I/II/III to better reflect the current duties and responsibilities and to align with industry norms and standards. There is no salary adjustment associated with this change.
FISCAL IMPACT
The four percent (4%) across-the-board increases were incorporated into the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Operating Budget approved by City Council on June 10, 2026. The adjustment to the Hourly Per Diem Communications Dispatcher rate is estimated to be between $5,000-$6,000 annually, which can be absorbed by the existing approved Police Department staffing budget as this reflects a minor variance within total staffing cost estimates.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES ACTION PLAN
This action supports the Modern and Sustainable Organization Major Focus Area by ensuring that the City maintains competitive compensation packages to recruit and retain qualified staff and fulfills its obligations under existing collective bargaining agreements and employment agreements.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 Wage and Salary schedule in order to fulfill the City’s obligations under previously approved collective bargaining agreements and individual employment agreements, and to ensure that the City remains in a competitive position to recruit and retain qualified employees.
ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS
File 26-1987