After agreeing to cuts in compensation in 2010 and 2011, Benicia’s part-time employees who are members of the Benicia Public Service Employees’ Association (BPSEA) will see some small increases to their compensation packages, the City Council has decided.

The new three-year agreement, approved by the Council on April 21 and effective for the dates Nov. 1, 2014 through Oct. 31, 2017, will impact the current budget by less than $2,000, and there is enough money to cover that adjustment, Assistant City Manager Anne Cardwell told the Council before the meeting.

The cost in Fiscal Year 2015-16, which starts July 1, is about $12,500, and in the next fiscal year, $31,250, Cardwell said.

The new agreement brings the city in compliance with Assembly Bill 1522, a new sick leave law that applies to part-time employees that becomes effective July 1. It also provides employees minimal increases to leave-associated pay.

Part-time workers won’t get any changes to their salary until the final year of the agreement, when they’ll start getting a 1-percent adjustment July 1, 2016 and another 1-percent adjustment Jan. 1, 2017.

Otherwise, the terms of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the part-time BPSEA employees will remain unchanged, Cardwell said.

In other matters decided by the Council on April 21, the city will accept $945,000 from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the construction of a bus and park-and-ride hub at the intersection of Park Road and Industrial Way.

The money comes from Regional Measure 2 (bus toll) funds.

A total of $1.25 million in Regional Measure 2 funds have been earmarked for the bus hub and park-and-ride site that will cater to commuters traveling from Benicia to and from Contra Costa County and BART, especially those using Fairfield Suisun Transit (FAST) Route 40 and those who travel to work at the Benicia Industrial Park.

The Council also voted to provide short-term assistance to newly hired Community Development Director Christina Ratcliffe by increasing the city’s contract with Management Partners, a firm that provides consulting services to her department, by $5,000.

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