05/23/2005 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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® MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH OLMSTED MAY 23, 2005 Present: President of Council Kennedy, Council Members Dailey, Gareau, Limpert, McKay, Miller, Nashar, Talton Also Present: Mayor O'Grady, Law Director Dubelko, Clerk of Council Seman President Kennedy called the special meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in Council Chambers, 5200 Dover Center Road, North Olmsted, Ohio. LEGISLATION Resolution No. 2005-88 was introduced and placed on first reading by Mayor O'Grady. A resolution authorizing the Director of Law to take appropriate legal action, including preparing, filing and prosecuting motions to vacate in Cuyahoga County Common Pieas Court, for the purpose of seeking to vacate and/or modify the following labor arbitration awards: (1) North Olmsted Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 1267, AFL/CIO and City of North Olmsted, Ohio, FMCS Case No 040702-55936-$, decided February 28, 2005; and (2) City of North Olmsted and International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1267, FMCS Case No. 04-44931, decided on May 5, 2005, and declaring an emergency. Councilman Dailey moved for suspension of the rules requiring three readings and formal committee review. The motion was seconded by Councilman Nashar. Before the vote was taken, Law Director Dubelko said he would like to present this item for Council's strong consideration. He does not think it appropriate to make his comments in executive session in this case. He has made his feelings known to the fire fighters as to why he believes this matter should be taken to court. They may not agrees, but they understand it. The City Charter requires that he come to City Council for authority to prosecute actions, and that is why this legislation is before Council this evening. It involves two arbitration awards, both involving the city's fire fighters. Last year, he came to City Council for authority to hire Gary Johnson as outside counsel to defend the city in eight arbitrations that the fire fighters were prosecuting against the city. They were packaged together as they all involved management rights arbitrations because they involved very important rights of city management to manage the Fire Department. Two of the arbitrations have been concluded, and they have both come back against the city. The usual way in labor arbitrations is that they are final and binding and the parties should live by them. But the issues involved in these two arbitrations are so important, and he thinks the facts are so unique, that he believes he would not be responsible in representing the city to recommend against taking an appeal into the court system to try to correct what he thinks is a wrong in each of the arbitration awards. In the first one that has the pending deadline of May 28, after years of city management indicating to the fire fighters at the bargaining table that they were not going to bargain on staffing levels and after the collective bargaining was over, the union and the Fire Chief bargained