San Mateo County ready to give out raises to nurses, sheriff’s sergeants
$82 million budget deficit, San Mateo County plans
to give raises to its nurses this fiscal year and to
sheriff’s sergeants later.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors is scheduled
to consider approving new labor contracts with
unions that represent the two groups of employees.
Under the agreement reached between the county
and the California Nurses Association, 340 union
members will receive annual 3 percent raises over
the next three years.
County Human Resources Director Donna
Vaillancourt said the nurses haven’t received a
salary bump in three years.
“The nurses are 12 percent to 19 percent behind in
the median salary as compared to neighboring
counties,” she said. “We want to pay a decent wage
so we can attract and retain nurses.”
County staff nurses make between $89,232 and
$105,454 per year, depending on experience.
Though raises are deferred for the sheriff’s
sergeants, they are guaranteed a 3 percent increase
in 2015.
Both unions agreed to concessions that will reduce
the county’s payments toward employee benefits,
according to a report prepared in advance of
Tuesday’s meeting.
As a result, the sergeants now will pick up 15
percent of the costs of their health care premiums –
with the county footing the rest — instead of the 10
either a Kaiser or
Aetna HMO plan. There also have been increases in
the co-pay costs for the employees, according to
the report.
In addition, sergeants hired in the future won’t be
able to retire at the age of 50 with a pension that is
3 percent of their final salary multiplied by number o
f years worked. Instead, they’ll either be able to
retire at age 50 with 2 percent or at 55 with 3
percent. The new contract expires in April 2016.
Nurses accepted a similar reduction for new
employees. Instead of being able to retire at 55½
years old with 2 percent, future hires won’t be
eligible to retire until they are 58 and will receive
just 1.7 percent.
The cost-sharing arrangement for health premiums
won’t change for nurses, however. The county will
continue paying 90 percent of the premium for the
Kaiser and Aetna plans and 80 percent of the
premium for a Blue Shield plan. And while co-pays
will increase for nurses, the county is offering each
$200 in a flexible health care spending account
during the agreement, which expires in July 2014.
Despite the short-term costs of the raises, the long-
term concessions will save a total of about $4.2
million in 10 years, according to the report.
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