To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: MJ Tueros, Human Resources Director
Prepared By: Ashley Titus, Management Analyst II
TITLE:
Title
2027 CalPERS Contract Amendment for Unrepresented Executive Police Safety
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution of Intention to approve an amendment to the contract between the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and the City Council of the City of Napa; and approve the first reading and introduction of an ordinance amending the contract between the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and the City Council of the City of Napa
Body
DISCUSSION:
On October 21, 2025, the City Council approved changes to the Police Chief’s compensation and benefits, aligning the CalPERS retirement cost share with the Police Management Unit (PMU). Without this adjustment, candidates for the Police Chief in Tier 2 (3% @ 55) or Public Employee Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) (2.7% @ 57) retirement formulas would be subject to higher pension contributions, resulting in reduced take-home pay. The approved changes are being implemented in three phases.
The first phase began on November 18, 2025, when the City Council established the 2026 cost-sharing arrangement for the Unrepresented Police Safety Group in accordance with the Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL). The Resolution of Intention and Ordinance was approved on February 3, 2026, and the Final Reading of the Ordinance was approved on March 3, 2026.
The second phase began on August 18, 2026 when the City Council established the 2027 cost-sharing arrangement. The proposed current action represents the next step in implementing this adjustment. The attached Resolution of Intention provides formal notice of the City Council’s intent to amend the City’s contract with CalPERS to establish the Police Chief’s cost-sharing arrangement starting January 2027. Under the PERL, the City Council must adopt a Resolution of Intention before amending its CalPERS contract by ordinance. The Resolution of Intention identifies the specific contract amendment proposed by the City and provides public notice of the City’s intention to make the change. The contract itself must be amended by Ordinance, the first reading and introduction of which may be done concurrently with the Resolution of Intention, with the second reading occurring no earlier than 20 days after the first reading. Final adoption of the Ordinance is scheduled for November 17, 2026, with an effective date of December 17, 2026. The CalPERS contract amendment would take effect with the payroll period beginning December 19, 2026.
The third and final phase of the three-year implementation will begin in fall 2027 to establish the 2028 cost-sharing arrangement.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
Adjusting the Unrepresented Police Executive Safety Group’s cost share to align with the Police Management Unit results in a lower employee contribution rate. As a result, the City’s share of the pension contribution will increase slightly.
The current cost share listed is 3.5%. It will be reduced to 3% effective January 1, 2027 resulting in a cost of $715.85 for Fiscal Year 2026/27. Additional changes in future years will be required to be brought to Council for subsequent contract amendments and will be budgeted accordingly in future Fiscal Years.
CEQA:
The Human Resource Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution of Intention
ATCH 2 - Ordinance
EX - Amendment to Contract
NOTIFICATION:
Unrepresented Executive Police Safety Group