Shared sacrifice

On the one hand, Baker City’s police and fire department unions had exquisite timing.

They signed five-year labor contracts, with guaranteed yearly salary increases, in June 2008, right about when the economy went from a little sluggish to downright sloth-like.

You remember the $4-plus gas that summer, right?

On the other hand, the two unions locked in 3-percent cost-of-living pay raises while the city’s revenues have stayed basically stagnant.

Of course nobody forced the City Council to ratify those contracts.

Both pacts were negotiated in good faith, both are legally binding, and the 3-percent annual raises are reasonable by the standards of the city’s past contracts.

“Those two bargaining units have indicated a willingness to reduce their salary demand,” Bogart said last week.

That’s a pleasant surprise.

To reiterate: Neither union has any legal obligation to so much as consider tinkering with the terms of the contracts.

That leaders from both unions are willing to listen to Bogart’s pitch suggests that they care not only about their own financial future, but about the city’s as well.

“We’re being very open-minded about it,” said Shannon Regan, a member of the police union’s bargaining team. “We felt like (Bogart’s proposal) was something worth listening to.”

As we were, Bogart said he was surprised by the union leaders’ response — although only “mildly” surprised, he said.

“I was very pleased,” he said. “Their willingness to share in the sacrifices. . . . more often than not you don’t get that response.”

There’s no certainty, of course, that Bogart will be able to negotiate amendments to the unions’ pacts.

But it may well be that the unions will have to decide which they value more: the full pay raises to which they’re entitled, or avoiding layoffs the city might need to impose to balance its budget.

Bogart said he also asked members of the city’s third union, which mainly represents public works employees, about revising their five-year contract, which also was signed in 2008.

That union declined, but Bogart said the financial situation with that union is quite different than with police and fire.

First, the public works union’s contract does not guarantee workers 3-percent annual raises.

Instead, the union is entitled to a minimum of 2 percent, and a maximum of 4 percent, with the actual amount based on the federal Consumer Price Index.

Unless the economy rapidly improves, it’s not likely that union workers will get 4 percent raises.

Second, police and fire are paid primarily through the city’s general fund, which includes property taxes.

Most of the money for the public works department comes from water and sewer fees, and from the city’s share of the state gas tax.

The financial “pinch” in public works is not quite so great as with police and fire, which comprise about half of the general fund, Bogart said.

Third, the city has more flexibility in cutting costs in public works because employees there, unlike with police and fire, usually are not required to be on duty around the clock.

Bogart said his ultimate goal is to “make every effort to preserve the current level of service” in the police and fire departments.

That’s a worthy objective.

And we’re glad that the unions seem to have an interest in achieving that goal, too.