On Aug. 18 the Lakeport City Council voted not to fulfill the terms of a contract they made with the Lakeport Police Officer”s Association (LPOA). Specifically, they choose not to implement an increase in retirement benefits. The LPOA and its union attorneys believe this failure to fulfill the terms of our contract is both unethical and illegal.
The LPOA has filed a grievance with the city and is in the process of filing a lawsuit, which will include attorney”s fees.
The reasons the LPOA believes the city should follow through with its promises are many. The LPOA members gave up portions of their salary increases each year to help fund the retirement increase.
These salary concessions now total 4 percent and the contracted retirement increase will cost 10 percent. We have, in that one concession, paid for 40 percent of the benefit increase. During the contract negotiations, the City asked the LPOA to help them reduce future benefit costs by eliminating retiree medical benefits for future employees. We agreed.
Currently one-third of all police officers at Lakeport PD do not have retiree medical benefits. That concession will save the city hundreds of thousands of future dollars.
Some of the council members have stated that they did not vote on this contract and they blame past council members for agreeing to it. This is not true.
The current contract between the LPOA and the city was modified midway through 2009. It was brought to the council and they ratified it without question. If there were concerns they would have been most appropriately dealt with at that time.
Some members of the council have also stated that based on a fiscal emergency they can not fulfill the contract. The city cut two police officer positions resulting in a saving of no less than $100,000 per year.
The LPOA was told this cut was done solely to afford the retirement benefit increase, but yet now they are refusing to follow through. Where is the funding from public safety being supplanted? Additionally, the city has recently ignored its own hiring freeze on two occasions. An Administrative Services Director and a park ranger have been hired.
These are positions that have never existed before in the City of Lakeport. The cost of these positions is more than the projected cost of the retirement increase.
Finally, the City adopted a balanced preliminary budget which included the cost of the retirement increase. With these expenditures, we find it difficult to view the City”s fiscal position as an emergency.
It is for these reasons that the LPOA feels that some council members have acted irresponsibly.
Unfortunately, we can all only watch as limited city funds are used to pay attorney”s fees to defend the council”s actions. The LPOA would, however, like to thank Councilmen Rumfelt and Parmentier who have voted in favor of the retirement increase, because they believed it was the obligation of the city to “live up to its promises.”
Norman Taylor
President LPOA
