SAN ANTONIO – Negotiators with the city and police union resumed collective bargaining negotiations Tuesday after a nearly two-month stalemate.
"I think we had a good first start. Nobody yelled at anybody for a change. That was nice," said San Antonio Police Officers' Association President Michael Helle.
Union negotiators unveiled a new benefits proposal that includes three separate health care plans. Two of the plans would require officers to pay monthly premiums, which they currently do not do.
"We recognize that our world in health care is going to change," Helle said. "Our plan is a little bit out of date. We need to kind of modernize it."
The proposal includes a legacy plan, value plan, and consumer-driven health plan.
Under the legacy plan a single officer would pay a $60 monthly premium. A couple on the plan would pay $203 monthly, and a couple with children would pay $292 a month in premiums.
Under the value plan a single officer would pay no premiums. Adding a spouse would cost $75 and an entire family would cost $125 per month.
The consumer-driven health plan would require no premiums at all, but it comes with high deductibles -- $3,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a family.
The union estimates it would cost the city about $29 million a year for police health care. The city would like to pay about $23.8 million per year on police health care, which comes to about $10,000 annually per officer.
"What we got from the union needs some work on the numbers," said the city's lead negotiator, Jeff Londa. "I think there are some assumptions that are not accurately made or not considered."
Londa said the city would like a plan that is similar to peer cities around Texas. But Helle said in order for officers to afford the changes the city must increase their pay, which is why the union asked for annual pay raises over the life of the five year deal.
"If ($10,000 annually per officer) is what council wants to go towards, we're not opposed to that, but those (peer) cities have an emphasis on pay and less emphasis on benefits," Helle said. "Between our pay raises and what we would save on health care the city would still show an $8 million projected savings at the end of the five-year deal. If (the city) said no pay raises then we're just done."
City negotiators scoffed at the pay increases.
"The union gave us a wage proposal today that basically wipes out, by many multiples, any savings that would be achieved through health care under any proposal," Londa said.
While the union is pushing for a five-year deal, the city is proposing a three-year deal that contributes $10,000 annually per officer for coverage.
"We think the $10,000 is a really realistic number. It's midway between the civilian costs and the existing costs for the current police and fire plans, and it is better than (what) all four of the large cities in Texas offer," said Londa.
The two sides have agreed to meet again on Sept. 30 and Oct. 7.