Akron has started or soon will begin talks with three of its four unions.The city will be in wage reopeners with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the fire union, and full contract negotiations with the Civil Service Personnel Association (CSPA).The unions, which have gone without raises for several years, are hoping for them, but Akron likely won’t be looking to hand them out. Akron’s income tax revenues are up, but property taxes are down and the city is expecting a cut of about $4.5 million next year in the local government funds it receives from the state.“I wish the economy was better so we were in a bargaining environment that was conducive to discussions more favorable to our employees,” said Patty Ambrose Rubright, Akron’s interim personnel director. “These are the cards we have been dealt.”The only bargaining unit Akron isn’t in talks with is the police union, which was awarded raises by a state conciliator in January after a lengthy and acrimonious battle. The union got a 1.5 percent raise in April and will receive another 2 percent Jan. 1 and 1 percent July 1.The city has had a few meetings with the fire union, an initial meeting with CSPA and will meet for the first time with AFSCME on Tuesday. If agreements aren’t reached by the end of the year, the unions will work under their current contracts.George Johnson, AFSCME’s president, thinks the talks with his group will be wrapped up in a few weeks. He said the union will have some suggestions and thinks the city will be open to them. He said the union would love to get raises, but also would be willing to discuss other perks.“We’ll be trying to look for other options,” said Johnson, whose union represents about 405 employees, most who work in the public utilities and public works bureaus. “If they don’t have money, sometimes there are other ways they can do things to help. Folks are hurting. We will not be trying to break the city or hurt the citizens.”Dan Sladek, the new CSPA president, said the union has gotten some of the information it requested from the city but is waiting on the rest. He said the union’s members have gone without raises for three years and have taken concessions.“We’re always hoping for a raise,” said Sladek, whose 260-member union represents employees in clerical, administrative, nonmanagerial and customer-service positions. “We’ve got to get the information from the city to make an informed decision — to go through the numbers ourselves.”CSPA is the only union that hasn’t yet agreed to take on a portion of health-care premiums next year, and Akron likely will request this during the upcoming talks.James Knafel, the new president of the 329-plus member fire union, said he was unable “to discuss the specifics of what we are negotiating.”“It would be our desire to come to an agreement at the table,” he said.Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.