Dear Mayor Davis and Council members.

I would urge you not to approve the VPOA agreement in its current form.  The entire future of our city is at stake and this has the potential of putting a strangle hold on the city for the foreseeable future.  You are responsible for providing city services to all residents.  This new agreement seems to benefit the VPOA while leaving unanswered how the city will fund all the other things that are necessary to make this a better place to live.  How will you fund street repairs, senior centers, community based organizations and other quality of life measures?

Here are my concerns:

1. Where is the financial analysis showing how the city will be able to pay for these contract changes?  You have spent countless dollars and hours in the current bankruptcy proceedings and now when a judge is about to rule you throw away all that work.
2. Why would you agree to pay $1 million to the VPOA?  The analysis shows that it won’t require any cash payment, but no explanation as to how this will be paid.  How will this be paid?
3. Why would you agree to pay any future VPOA legal fees if this agreement needs to be modified?  It seems very likely to me that future city revenues will decline not increase with the deteriorating economy.  Property tax revenue, sales tax revenue and new construction revenue will certainly decline, yet you are building in guaranteed increases based on a seven city average of police pay and payment of VPOA legal fees to enforce future pay increases.
4. Why did you pick seven cities with percapita revenue significantly in excess of Vallejo to use as your benchmark in setting Vallejo’s pay structure?  According to my calculations the seven cities used in the comparison had percapita general fund revenue of $1,020 compared to Vallejo’s $683.  This is about 50% more than Vallejo receives yet you are using these cities to set the Vallejo police salaries.  Why didn’t you use cities that have a revenue structure similar to Vallejo like Fairfield and Vacaville?  These cities are able to fund and staff their police departments on the income they receive and provide other city services.
5. Why did you set the seven city comparison on base pay and employer paid member contributions to PERS?  Vallejo has significantly better benefits and extra pay programs and these programs remain mainly intact.  If you are going to use a seven city comparison it should include all pay categories and benefits.
6. Why doesn’t the new contract have a provision to reopen negotiations if the economic condition of the city deteriorates?  Many other cities have this provision in their contract. 
7. Why is there no provision to modify the significant pension and retiree health benefits that are looming on the horizon?  These benefits simply don’t exist in the private sector yet you don’t address this critical problem.  If the city can’t meet these future obligations you will be forced to pay the VPOA legal fees when they sue the city for performance

I will be unable to attend the council meeting on January 27 when you vote on this matter.  I hope you will address these questions before making any decision.  Please enter these comments in the public record of the meeting.

Paul Norberg