SAN ANTONIO — For the first time since the San Antonio Police Officers Association and the city restarted contract negotiations in September, tempers on both sides flared Tuesday as the union made a surprising counterproposal on health care.

Much of the consternation came from disagreements over fiscal assumptions and allegations from each side that the other was making political statements beyond what needed to be discussed at the negotiating table. At times, officials on both sides raised their voices and talked over each other.

SAPOA offered to switch the entire police force to a consumer-driven health care plan in which the city would pay nothing toward medical services until employees reached their annual deductibles. Such a plan had been part of a city proposal that included two other options with richer benefits.

City negotiators balked at the idea of placing the entire force into what's known as a CDHP. They expressed frustration over assumptions made by Randy McGraw, the police union's health care expert, on how much savings would be realized under a consumer-driven plan.

McGraw said he estimated between 35 and 42 percent in savings. City officials said they believe the range is closer to 20 to 25 percent.

The union's proposal also included higher wage increases over the life of the contract than what the city had previously offered.

Jeff Londa, the city's chief negotiator, said after the meeting that he was surprised by the union's proposal because it neither offered health care options nor a less expensive contract than the union had proposed earlier in negotiations — a notion that wasn't forcefully disputed by Ron DeLord, the union's chief negotiator.

During the meeting, DeLord was visibly agitated by the city's negotiators because they were critical of the union's proposal. He said he was aggravated by the city's plan that called for changing health care plans over the life of the contract — offering a rich “legacy” plan in the first year, taking it away in the second and offering a PPO and a CDHP. At the last meeting, DeLord said, Buddy Morris, the city's health care expert who wasn't at Tuesday's negotiations, had sung the praises of the consumer-driven plans. Morris had said, DeLord recalled, that once people were educated about CDHPs, they would like them and that companies across the U.S. are heading toward consumer-driven plans.

The city balked at the union's proposal partially because its structure differed significantly from how the city had laid out its CDHP.

Later in the meeting, Deputy City Manager Erik Walsh aggressively pushed back against DeLord, who accused City Manager Sheryl Sculley of using non-union Park Police officers to artificially inflate the cost of public safety, which under council directive cannot exceed 66 percent of the general fund.

Though rhetoric flared Tuesday, both sides are planning to return for more negotiations next month. Londa voiced concerns that if a deal isn't put in place before the end of the year, the city will begin exceeding its public-safety budget by more than $1 million each month.

jbaugh@express-news.net