$827,000 RAISE FOR WORKERS FIREMEN, POLICE STILL IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH CITY OFFICIALS.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

BURBANK - The city will spend $827,000 this fiscal year for cost-of- living raises and extra medical coverage for 580 employees, as well as raises for dozens of high-ranking city officials.

Librarians, sanitation workers and groundskeepers will be among those getting a 2.4 percent increase, under the agreement with the Burbank City Employees Association. The pact expires in June.

``Given the city and the state's financial realities, it seemed to be the fairest thing that we could secure,'' union president Bob Kaczmarek said Wednesday. ``Doesn't mean everyone's jumping up and down.''

The Burbank City Council unanimously approved the agreement Tuesday. In addition to the pay increase, the deal also provides an extra $75 a month for three months for out-of-pocket medical costs.

Employees get $515 a month in medical coverage, but with medical costs rising and some employees having several family members to cover, the city has helped those burdened with extra costs, said Judie Sarquiz, management services director.

``It was a very good agreement for the city, and I was very appreciative ... of the union. They understood that we are under some very significant pressure or pressures during this period,'' said City Councilman Todd Campbell.

Also, the city clerk and the city treasurer were each given a 3 percent raise, bringing their salaries up to $7,690 a month.

The fewer than 100 department heads and those managers not represented by a union also got pay raises. The city provided $157,600 to increase pay for managers, and $50,360 to boost the pay of executives.

The city and the BCEA have been negotiating since April. The city continues contract talks with the unions for its police officers and firefighters.

``We're having good healthy discussions,'' said Sarquiz, adding that she could not predict when an agreement could be reached with those unions.

The raise the executives and managers will get amounts to a 2.5 percent increase in general fund expenditures on their salaries. But the raises coming to each executive and manager will vary.

One type of manager, an administrative analyst, makes between $4,200 and $5,100 a month, so his or her raise will be on top of that.

Librarians make between $3,400 and $4,300 a month and their salaries will increase by the 2.4 percent the BCEA negotiated for.

The pay increases are all retroactive to July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.

Alex Dobuzinskis, [phone]

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com