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Minutes 11-08-04 MINUTES OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING MEETING BETWEEN THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH AND THE PALM BEACH COUNTY POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION HELD IN CONFERENCE ROOM B, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2004 AT 2:00 P.M. Present For the City: For the Union: Jim Cherof, City Attorney Assistant Chief of Police Steve Graham Mary Munro, Budget Coordinator Jill Hanson, PBA Attorney Officer Nancy Aspenleiter Det. Toby Athol Sgt. Gary Chapman Officer Kelly Harris Lt. Richard Root Sgt. Stewart Steele 1. Call to Order Attorney Cherof called the meeting to order at 2: 1 0 p.m. The City's new and revised wage proposal dated November 8, 2004 was distributed together with a copy of the City's previous offer. The new offer takes into consideration the patrol officers losing the 8.5% differential. In its place the City is offering a base increase of 5.50%, plus 3%-5% for pay for performance. The 8.5% is reduced to 2% for the balance of the fiscal year. The total cost of the new wage proposal is $6,680,259 that is somewhat over the amount budgeted, but Attorney Cherof felt that the Commission would ratify this offer. Attorney Cherof stated that this is the City's best wage offer for the contract, noting that there are still some remaining issues to be resolved, other than wages. Attorney Hanson pointed out that they have not received a proposal for the Lieutenants and Attorney Cherof stated that he would be presenting a proposal for Lieutenants today as well. Det. Athol inquired if the new proposal was the one previously discussed, except for the pay for performance. Attorney Cherof responded that the base (5.50%) and the pay for performance (3%-5%) is the same as the previous offer. However, the 8.5% differential for the road patrol has been increased from "0" to 2%. Sgt. Chapman inquired what the $287,667 represented. Attorney Cherof responded that this figure is the amount projected for the pay-for-performance expenditure. Det. Athol inquired if this was an actual figure and Attorney Cherof felt it was a projected number based upon historical averages. The meeting recessed at 2:15 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 2:25 p.m. Meeting Minutes PBA/City of Boynton Beach Collective Bargaining Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 8, 2004 2. PBA Comments Attorney Hanson stated that the City's offer was unacceptable. Attorney Hanson pointed out that the PBA made an offer the last time that they met was not significantly different from the City's proposal. She noted that the PBA requested 1 % in April and the pay-for- performance range was 41,4%,4%% and 5%. Based upon vacancies in the Department year-to-date, Attorney Hanson noted that the City has saved close to $90,000 that could easily pay for the requested 1 % and the difference in the pay-for-performance scale. Attorney Hanson inquired why there was a discrepancy of approximately $29,000 between the cost of the pay-for-performance from the prior proposal and this proposal. Attorney Cherof pointed out that in the previous offer the pay-for-performance was a 5%. The $287,667 represented a 4.5% average. Attorney Hanson stated that they would be willing to bring their wage proposal to their membership for ratification that included the 1% increase in the Spring with the 41,4,4% and 5% pay for performance. They would take the City's offer to the membership for a vote, but without a recommendation. Attorney Cherof requested that the City's offer as presented today be brought to the membership, with or without a recommendation. He stated that the City Commission would not ratify the union's offer. Officer Aspenleiter inquired if City Manager Bressner felt that this was the best offer that the City could make for present and future officers. Attorney Cherof responded that this was the City's best offer. 3. Additional Articles to be addressed A. Discipline Policy Attorney Hanson had reviewed the discipline policy and had many problems with it. She noted that the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office has a very good discipline policy that contains all potential violations and the appropriate disciplinary penalties. She felt it was important to have this type of policy in effect so that all parties are aware of the discipline associated with each policy. Attorney Hanson will obtain a copy and furnish it to Attorney Cherof. Attorney Cherof stated that it is the City's goal that all disciplinary procedures would be set out in the City's Personnel Policy Manual and would be removed entirely from all union contractors. Attorney Cherof further stated that he had anticipated that the union would have looked at the City's PPM for this purpose and to bring forth their comments. Det. Athol stated that they had looked at the PPM and they felt that there are too many issues in the Police Department that are not covered in the PPM. He further felt that to include these issues in the PPM would involve a tremendous amount of revision to the document. Further, Det. Athol felt that the PPM did not apply to the Police Department. 2 Meeting Minutes PBA/City of Boynton Beach Collective Bargaining Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 8, 2004 Attorney Hanson pointed out that the PPM involved supervisors in investigations and then the matter would go to Human Resources. With regard to the Police Department, Internal Affairs does most of the disciplinary investigations. She also felt that examples of misconduct, as they were defined in the PPM, were vague. Attorney Hanson also understood that the PPM would be incorporated into the contract. Attorney Cherof stated that this was not the case and there would be no provisions regarding discipline in the contract because it would be covered by the PPM. Det. Athol inquired if changes to the PPM would be referenced in the contract. Attorney Cherof was of the opinion that it would not require a great amount of changes for the PPM to apply to the Police Department. Attorney Hanson stated that there appeared to be two parts to the discipline policy. One part was the procedure and the second part was misconduct. She pointed out that the procedure in the Police Department is different from the remainder of the City that she felt was attributable to certain legal requirements for investigation within the Police Department. These requirements would have to remain part of the contract. Attorney Hanson referred to violent acts as defined in the PPM and noted that if this applied to the Police, it would prevent them from performing their job. Attorney Cherof acknowledged that the use of force is a right reserved for Police Officers as opposed to employees of the Public Works Department, etc. He also noted that the Police Officers, as a matter of law, are authorized to use force in doing their job. However, Attorney Cherof stated that there needs to be discipline when an Officer exceeds the amount of force necessary while performing their job. Attorney Hanson noted that there are provisions currently for this. Attorney Hanson felt that once Attorney Cherof had an opportunity to review the policies in the Sheriff's Department, a great many potential misconduct issues would be revealed. Sgt. Chapman inquired if the City wanted to have one policy in place dealing with discipline in order to simplify the process for discipline. Attorney Cherof responded that the City wanted all policies of the City, regardless of their job description, title or department, to have a uniform process. The City felt that a uniform process over time would be better for all employees. Sgt. Chapman pointed out that the PPM provides longevity benefits for employees, except the Police Department. He felt that this benefit should apply to the Police Department as well. Attorney Cherof stated that this benefit would not be available to the Police this year because there is no money in the budget for this benefit. 4. Lieutenant's Proposal Attorney Cherof distributed a copy of the City's proposal dated November 8, 2004 that was reviewed by the PBA representatives. 3 Meeting Minutes PBA/City of Boynton Beach Collective Bargaining Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 8, 2004 Attorney Cherof explained that the proposal is divided into two parts. The first part states that the contract would remain status quo for this fiscal year with a 4% base increase up to $80,000. Any amount over $80,000 would be paid in a lump sum payment. The second part of the City's proposal is that the Lieutenants would continue to be exempt employees. Attorney Cherof noted that this issue is in flux and the City would reserve the right to reopen it if the Department of Labor interpreted this differently. The City would also require that Lieutenants maintain accurate records of hours actually worked and that they cannot work in excess of 171 hours in a 28-day work cycle without express approval of the Police Chief. Attorney Hanson was not certain if this was allowable under the new Federal regulations and felt that this needed more discussion. Attorney Cherof thought that the Lieutenants wanted to remain in exempt status and this is how the City drafted its proposal. 5. Review of Other Provisions Attorney Cherof stated that he had the PBA's proposal dated October 5,2004. Attorney Hanson stated that the language in the Preamble was taken from the Sergeants' Contract. Attorney Cherof requested to respond to the Articles individually for all three contracts, which Attorney Hanson agreed to. ./ The City is agreeable with the Preamble and this could be TA'd. ./ The City is agreeable with Recognition. The City feels that it is appropriate to have three individual contracts and whatever is applicable would be applicable to that particu lar contract. Attorney Hanson had a question dealing with non-discrimination and left the current language in the contract. Attorney Cherof would like to have this Article deleted in its entirety. He noted that the Union and the City are bound under law not to discriminate and he did not see a reason to have this addressed in the contract. Attorney Hanson noted that people have brought duty fair representation lawsuits against cities, as well as the unions. Attorney Hanson stated that they would review the City's proposal to delete this article. ./ The City is agreeable to the Dues Deduction Article. ./ The City is agreeable to the Bulletin Board Article and that there would be only one bulletin board, which Attorney Hanson confirmed. Attorney Cherof asked for clarification on the Promotional Article. Attorney Hanson stated that this language acknowledged that there are three collective bargaining 4 Meeting Minutes PBA/City of Boynton Beach Collective Bargaining Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 8, 2004 agreements. The current officers' agreement provides that a person must have three years' experience as a law enforcement officer to be eligible for testing for promotion to sergeant. Attorney Cherof responded that the current contract states that the City would not deal with the bargaining unit regarding issues of promotion outside of the bargaining unit. He did not want the contract to dictate guidelines or rights that allow jumping among the bargaining units, which the City is not required as a matter of law. Officer Aspenleiter inquired if this meant there was no criterion for an Officer being promoted to a Sergeant. Attorney Cherof explained that the City is obligated to bargain with the union regarding qualifications for a particular bargaining unit, but is not required to bargain over promotional criteria, outside of the bargaining unit. Attorney Hanson referred to Article 7 of the current contract and Attorney Cherof noted that this only states that they are eligible, but it does not set out the criteria for promotion. If this were the case, then this would only be applicable to the patrolmen's contract. Attorney Hanson responded that they had intended to have only one contract and the language dealing with sergeants is in the current patrol contract. Attorney Hanson noted that the current Lieutenants' contract requires that posting for that position requires 30-day posting prior to the date of closing and she would like this language to be applicable to all three units. Attorney Cherof noted that this would not apply for entry as a patrolman, with which Attorney Hanson concurred. Attorney Cherof stated that this could also apply for sergeants, as well, and other positions outside the bargaining units. Attorney Cherof will review this Article for clarification. Attorney Hanson noted that Article 8 in the current officers' contract has no change. Attorney Cherof responded that the City had a counterproposal for this Article to increase the percentage. Attorney Hanson would like the same language to remain because the figure in the contract is a higher rate than the advertised hire rate. Attorney Cherof felt that this should be increased to the same level since other positions have increased. Attorney Hanson inquired if the Department is hiring people at a rate higher than the base entry rate of pay. She also noted that the previous contract allowed the Chief to apply pay retroactively to people hired within the past two years and inquired if this was still the practice. Attorney Cherof responded that this was a parody issue and is no longer applicable. Attorney Hanson asked how many people were hired subsequently to this provision and at what rate. Attorney Cherof would follow through with this request. Article 9 - Management Rights. Attorney Hanson included the existing officers' language and did not think there was much difference between the two contracts. The only change that she made was in Paragraph I regarding testing. Attorney Cherof felt that psychological fitness for duty was a sub-component of medical. He noted that the language "testing must be approved by the Police Chief and City Manager" was deleted and was, in fact, a benefit to the bargaining unit members and was a safeguard. Attorney Hanson agreed with this statement. She also pointed out that the law allows psychological fitness for duty testing. 5 Meeting Minutes PBA/City of Boynton Beach Collective Bargaining Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 8, 2004 Attorney Cherof stated that the reason the City included the language that this testing must be approved by the Police Chief and City Manager was to avoid abuse of this type of testing. Attorney Hanson stated that it would not be a problem to include this language. With regard to the language that states, "the City agrees to use State certified laboratories for all drug testing," Attorney Cherof pointed out that most local laboratories that perform testing send the samples to out-of-state laboratories for testing. Attorney Hanson pointed out that their language reads, "State certified" and does not necessarily mean "in State." She recommended using the FDOT standards and Attorney Cherof stated that those requirements could be referenced. Article 10 - Advisory Committee. No change. Article 11- Hours of Work and Overtime. Attorney Hanson will refine this Article. During discussions, Attorney Cherof felt that they had reached a "tentative agreement" regarding wages, which Attorney Hanson totally disagreed with. Attorney Hanson reiterated that they have not reached a tentative agreement. The City's proposal will be brought to the membership for a vote, but with no recommendation for approval on their part. Officer Aspenleiter inquired what the top-out was for officers and was informed it was $62,500. She also inquired if this would be increased since differential pay was being eliminated. Attorney Cherof did not think they came to agreement on the top-out pay for officers and the City's proposal was to leave the ranges as stated. Therefore, the top- out pay would not be increased. Article 13 - Seniority. Attorney Cherof inquired if a "seniority wheel" would be used in determining overtime assignments so that the person with the highest seniority would not always have the first opportunity to overtime. Sgt. Steele stated that only sergeants are on a wheel. Det. Athol stated that with regard to the road patrol, it is strictly seniority and there is a procedure in place that addresses this. With regard to Article 13, Section 5, Attorney Hanson felt that two separate sentences were needed to address this and she will take care of this. Det. Athol felt that a hurricane policy needed to be drafted in order to eliminate all the confusion that took place during the past hurricane season. Attorney Cherof stated that the City is in the process of preparing a comprehensive hurricane emergency procedures ordinance that addresses these issues. Among one of the items being looked at is who had the authority to declare the emergency. Det. Athol noted that there was a lot of confusion in the Police Department. Attorney Cherof inquired if there were members of the bargaining unit that felt they were not justly compensated for their time, and Lt. Athol responded that there were. 6 Meeting Minutes PBA/City of Boynton Beach Collective Bargaining Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 8, 2004 Attorney Cherof stated that he is working with other City Departments to write the procedure and requested that Lt. Athol furnish him with issues that should be contained in the procedures ordinance. Attorney Hanson requested that she be furnished with the proposed ordinance. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding hurricane issues. Attorney Cherof requested that the PBA designate a representative that the Assistant City Manager could contact for ideas. Attorney Cherof requested that the name of the designee be E-mailed to him. Attorney Hanson asked for time to caucus on the City's Lieutenants' proposal. Recess was declared at 3:21 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 3:29 p.m. Attorney Hanson offered the bargaining units proposal for the Lieutenants' contract as follows: · There would be no cap on the salary. · $70,000 would be the starting salary. · Lieutenants would become non-exempt hourly employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. · The Lieutenants would not take any pay raise this year. The Union does not agree to the City's proposal for pre-approval of overtime. Det. Athol stated that if the City would agree to this, they would bring it to the bargaining unit. Attorney Cherof responded that they would have to run some numbers and bring it back. 6. Next Meeting Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 @ 2:00 p.m. Attorney Cherof recommended holding off on bringing the City's proposal to the officers and sergeants until the City has an opportunity to analyze the union's proposal for lieutenants. 7. Adjournment Attorney Hanson inquired that if the bargaining unit members rejected the contract, would there be any point to meet on November 16th. Attorney Cherof stated there would be no point to meeting and felt that they would be at an impasse at that point. Attorney Hanson will contact Attorney Cherof prior to the meeting date. 7 Meeting Minutes PBA/City of Boynton Beach Collective Bargaining Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 8, 2004 There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 3:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, J ~~/t,.lk~ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (November 10, 2004) 8