TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Diego Chavez, Administrative Services Director
PREPARED BY: Michelle Tamez, Senior Human Resources Analyst
SUBJECT:
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Approve a Tentative Agreement for a Successor Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Murrieta and the Murrieta Police Officers Association for the Period July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029
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ABSTRACT
The City of Murrieta (City) and the Murrieta Police Officers Association (MPOA) have successfully completed negotiations for a successor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The parties reached a Tentative Agreement addressing wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment for employees represented by MPOA. The Tentative Agreement has been ratified by the Association and is being presented to the City Council for consideration and approval. Upon approval of the Tentative Agreement, the parties will prepare a successor MOU that establishes the negotiated terms for the agreement period and supports the City's continued commitment to maintaining competitive compensation, operational effectiveness, and fiscal responsibility.
RECOMMENDATION
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Adopt Resolution No. 26-4957 entitled: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Murrieta, California, Approving a Tentative Agreement for a Successor Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Murrieta and the Murrieta Police Officers Association for the Period July 1, 2026, Through June 30, 2029.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On August 20, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 24-4775, adopting and implementing a successor Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Murrieta and the Murrieta Police Officers Association for the period July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026 (Vote: 5-0).
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
This item aligns with the City Council goal of: maintaining a high performing organization that values fiscal sustainability, transparency, accountability and organizational efficiency relating to an administrative priority. The Tentative Agreement supports employee recruitment and retention, operational effectiveness, and the City's long-term financial planning objectives.
DISCUSSION
Through the process of collective bargaining, the City of Murrieta (City) periodically negotiates with the respective employee organizations for the purpose of establishing and/or updating compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment for their represented employees, including tentative agreements for successor Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) affecting compensation and benefits. All such agreements must be voted on and passed by a majority of each affected employee organization’s membership (ratification) and subsequently approved by the City Council before becoming effective. Once approved by the City Council, the terms of tentative agreements for successor MOUs are immediately effective, but are also then memorialized in the successor MOU or through MOU amendments and brought back to the
City Council for final approval.
The current MOU between the City and the Murrieta Police Officers Association (MPOA or Association), adopted by City Council Resolution No. 24-4775 covering the period July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026 (MPOA MOU 2023-26), expired on June 30, 2026. MPOA currently represents 104 total City employees, including 71 Police Officers, 10 Police Corporals, 6 Police Detectives, 15 Police Sergeants, and 2 Traffic Investigators.
The labor representatives of the City and MPOA commenced labor negotiations for a successor MOU with their first meeting on February 18, 2026. The parties met again on March 5, 2026, March 18, 2026, April 9, 2026, April 27, 2026, May 5, 2026, May 14, 2026, June 15, 2026, and June 18, 2026. The labor representatives of the City and MPOA have met and conferred in good faith and have come to a ratified Tentative Agreement on a fair and equitable package of compensation and benefits for a successor MPOA MOU covering the period July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, pursuant to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) (Government Code sections 3500-3511) and the City's Employer-Employee Relations Resolution No. 93-214.
The members of the Association have voted to ratify the Tentative Agreement, and the labor representatives of the City and the MPOA have executed it, subject to final approval by the City Council. Staff has prepared Resolution No. 26-4957 (Attachment 1) for the City Council to consider approving the executed Tentative Agreement for a successor MPOA MOU for the period July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029.
As negotiated, the proposed Tentative Agreement for a successor MOU includes the following compensation and benefit terms:
• Two percent (2%) base salary Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), effective the pay period beginning July 12, 2026.
• Effective the first payday in calendar year 2027, the monthly health contribution shall increase from $1,826.90 to $2,000 and shall remain in effect through calendar year 2028.
• Effective the first payday in calendar year 2029, the monthly health contribution shall increase by fifty dollars to $2,050.
In addition, the following Educational Pay Incentive tiers shall become effective beginning the first full pay period following City Council approval of the Tentative Agreement and completion of necessary payroll implementation, whichever occurs later:
• $3.00 per hour for possession of an Advanced POST Certificate.
• $3.00 per hour for possession of a Supervisory POST Certificate.
• $4.00 per hour for possession of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university.
• $5.00 per hour for possession of a Master’s Degree from an accredited college or university.
• $6.00 per hour total for possession of both an Advanced POST Certificate and a Supervisory POST Certificate. ($3.00 for Advanced POST and $3.00 for Supervisory POST)
• $7.00 per hour total for possession of both an Advanced POST Certificate and a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university. ($3.00 for Advanced POST and $4.00 for Bachelor’s Degree)
• $8.00 per hour total for possession of both an Advanced POST Certificate and a Master’s Degree from an accredited college or university. ($3.00 for Advanced POST and $5.00 for Master’s Degree)
• $10.00 per hour total for possession of an Advanced POST Certificate, a Supervisory POST Certificate, and a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university. ($3.00 for Advanced POST, $3.00 for Supervisory POST, and $4.00 for Bachelor’s Degree)
• $11.00 per hour total for possession of an Advanced POST Certificate, a Supervisory POST Certificate, and a Master’s Degree from an accredited college or university.($3.00 for Advanced POST, $3.00 for Supervisory POST, and $5.00 for Master’s Degree)
A fully executed copy of the Tentative Agreement, which contains the full successor MOU agreement deal points, is attached to Resolution No. 26-4957 as Exhibit A.
PUBLIC NOTICING
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
CEQA AND REGULATORY OVERVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
FISCAL IMPACT
The projected fiscal impact of implementing the MPOA MOU for the period July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, is $4,813,583. This includes vacant and new positions authorized in the Fiscal Year 2026/27 Operating Budget. The fiscal impact for Fiscal Years 2027/28 and 2028/29 will be included in the next proposed biennial budget.
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Fiscal Year 2026/27 |
$ 1,489,288 |
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Fiscal Year 2027/28 |
$ 1,629,157 |
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Fiscal Year 2028/29 |
$ 1,695,138 |
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Total |
$ 4,813,583 |
ATTACHMENTS
ATT 1 - Resolution No. 26-4957