Eddie Sundquist

JAMESTOWN – The city of Jamestown will move forward and take its ongoing arbitration battle with its police union to the state’s highest court.

During a recent interview with WRFA, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist confirmed that the city has decided to move its appeal of a 2018 split decision Compulsory Interest Arbitration Ruling to the New York State Court of Appeals.

This after the State 4th Appellate Division in Rochester released on a unanimous ruling on June 12 that upheld a 2019 State Supreme Court Decision allowing the arbitration ruling to stand.

The 2018 arbitration ruling involved the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the Jamestown Kendell Club police union. Among other things, the ruling called for officers in the union to receive a retroactive 2% salary increase for both 2016 and 2017.

• READ COMPLETE 44-PAGE ARBITRATION RULING

Upon its release, city officials – led at the time by former mayor Sam Teresi – felt the arbitration ruling failed to take into full consideration the financial challenges facing Jamestown. State law indicated that the Arbitration Panel was to place a 70% weighting factor on the city’s financial position and ability to pay for any increase in salary. The city contends the arbitrators didn’t place enough focus on that aspect of state law when ruling in favor of a pay raise for the union members.

Sundquist said the city notified the police union this week that it would seek a judgement from the state’s highest court. He added that such action would require approval to do so from the court.

“If it wasn’t a unanimous decision, we would be able to appeal by right, which means the Court of Appeals would take that case and hear it,” explained Sundquist. “Since that is not the case. Since we had a concurring decision from the Appellate Division, we will have to ask permission from the Court of Appeals to hear that case, as it’s a portion of the law that may not have been yet interpreted. There is always the risk that the Court of Appeals may not want to take the case, so we are kind of going with that process to see if they will accept it.”

Sundquist also said that last year the city council approved a resolution to challenge the local Supreme Court ruling on the matter, and that resolution included taking the case to the Court of Appeals if it was not overturned in the Appellate Division. As a result, no additional legislative action is required by the city council because no new costs are being added.

The mayor also said that in the meantime, the city is continuing to negotiate with the union.

“We are still working actively with the police union to try to negotiate a deal and try to come to an understanding, as we have many years left with that contract that are still un-negotiated. So even though we are actively moving forward with that court case, we are are still actively trying to resolve this issue at the same time,” Sundquist said.

If the arbitration decision stands, the city will have to pay an estimated $800,000 in back wages to the members of the union during the time period that is covered. In addition, a similar back payment would also likely have to be made to the fire fighters union, which also never settled a contract for 2016 and 2017, but opted to wait until the police arbitration case plays out before possibly pursuing their own arbitration case.

The Albany-based law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King is representing the city in the legal dispute, while the Jamestown law firm of Fessenden, Laumer & DeAngelo is representing the police union. The cost of the court proceedings for the city – including taking it to the State Court of Appeals – has totaled $50,000.

The complete interview with mayor Sundquist – which covers a variety of topics and issues – will be broadcast on WRFA this Thursday at 5 p.m. on our Community Matters program.

On Friday, the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division: Fourth Judicial Department released its decision that has at least an $840,000 impact to the city of Jamestown’s bottom line, all though the final financial implications could be much higher.

The latest decision is part of an ongoing legal battle involving the Jamestown Kendall Club’s collective bargaining agreement covering the years 2016 and 2017.

The long-awaited decision is the result of the Jamestown City Council voting in May 2019 to appeal a State Supreme Court decision that upheld an October 2018 arbitration ruling on the 2016-17 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the city and the Kendall Club. Among other things, that ruling provided a retroactive 2 percent increase in salaries for each of those two years for police officers.

In November 2018 the Jamestown City Council voted 7 to 1 in favor of challenging the initial arbitration ruling. State law requires an arbitration decision involving the police union to place a weighting factor of 70 percent toward the ability of a fiscally challenged municipality like Jamestown to pay. In challenging the arbitration process, the city felt it would be a violation of its fiduciary duty to comply the arbitration award, basing its argument on the award being in violation of the 70 percent state statute. The city’s legal argument was that the arbitration decision was “arbitrary and capricious” and did not take into account the serious financial challenges gripping the city.

The council’s decision to appeal to the Appellate Division came after Chautauqua County Supreme Court judge James Dillon ruled in April 2019 that that arbitration panel ruling on the matter would stand.

While still in office, former Jamestown mayor Sam Teresi had said the bottom-line impact would cost the city an excess of over $800,000 if the arbitration ruling where allowed to stand.

“To allow that decision to stand will have an $840,000 unbudgeted impact on the 2019 budget. And that impact is only for retroactive raises for 2016 and 2017. If that decision is allowed to stand, it could lay the groundwork for a similar retroactive payment with the fire union moving forward. And as well that $840,000 impact for the police union alone doesn’t take into account raises that might be received for 2018, 2019, and 2020 moving forward,” Teresi explained in March 2019.

The city does have an option to file yet another appeal and take the case to the New York Court of Appeals – the highest court in the state – if the council so chooses.

According to the calendar page of the State Supreme Court Appellate Division: 4th Judicial Department, attorneys Terence O’Neil from Bond, Schoeneck & King and Charles DeAngelo from Fessenden, Laumer & DeAngelo are scheduled to appear before the appellate division justices on Monday, March 30 to argue on behalf of their respective clients – the City of Jamestown and the Jamestown Kendall Club PBA.

The long-awaited showdown is the result of the Jamestown City Council voting in May 2019 to appeal a State Supreme Court Decision that upheld an October 2018 arbitration ruling on the 2016-17 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the city and the Kendall Club. Among other things, that ruling provided a retroactive 2 percent increase in salaries for each of those two years for police officers.

The council’s decision to appeal came after Chautauqua County Supreme Court judge James Dillon ruled in April 2019 that that arbitration panel ruling on the matter would stand.

• READ JUDGE DILLON’S DECISION

The city has long argued that it can’t afford giving officers the salary increase because it will have an impact not only on any reserve funding that has been built up, but also on all future expenses for the city. In addition they say the increase to the police union will also likely be applied to the 2016-17 Jamestown Professional Firefighters Association CBA, which is also still unsettled and has been awaiting the outcome of the police contract issue before being resolved. While still in office, former Jamestown mayor Sam Teresi had said the bottom-line impact would approach an excess of over $800,000 if the arbitration ruling where allowed to stand.

“To allow that decision to stand will have an $840,000 unbudgeted impact on the 2019 budget. And that impact is only for retroactive raises for 2016 and 2017. If that decision is allowed to stand, it could lay the groundwork for a similar retroactive payment with the fire union moving forward. And as well that $840,000 impact for the police union alone doesn’t take into account raises that might be received for 2018, 2019, and 2020 moving forward,” Teresi explained in March 2019.

The city is paying Bond, Schoeneck, and King $25,000 to handle the Appellate Division case.

Once arguments are made before the appellate division justices, they will then deliberate and deliver at some point later this year.

Andrew Liuzzo

JAMESTOWN – Both Republican candidates running for mayor of Jamestown agree that city police officers and fire fighters deserve every cent they are paid by local taxpayers. But both Andrew Liuzzo and David Wilfong also acknowledge that financial challenges facing Jamestown will likely prevent public safety workers from getting all they they deserve.

• [RELATED] LISTEN TO FULL LIUZZO/WILFONG INTERVIEW

In 2019 the city of Jamestown has budgeted nearly a third of its total budget – $11 million – toward police and fire salaries and other related expenses. And a larger chunk could be on the way if a state appellate court upholds a recent state Supreme Court decision involving an arbitration ruling giving the police union a 2% pay raise. City officials say any increase the police receive in salary will also likely be given to firefighters as well, so the outcome of the arbitration appeal will be a challenge facing whoever is the next mayor of the city.

Liuzzo is currently a member of the Jamestown City Council and is the only council person to vote against challenging the arbitration ruling in State Supreme Court, as well as voting against the decision to appeal the Supreme Court decision.

Liuzzo told WRFA in our recent interview that it’s not the salaries but the healthcare and pension mandates from Albany that are what the city should be focused on.

“This all goes back to our retirement benefits and our healthcare benefits, and the Taylor Law and the Triborough Amendment. These laws and amendments have hurt upstate communities immensely. These were downstate laws that got applied to the whole state,” Liuzzo said. “My question would be, ‘Why hasn’t the New York Conference of Mayors, as a group, addressed this?’ Our current mayor was president of NYCOM, yet that question is still out there. Why wasn’t this addressed? These kinds of laws are what has hurt upstate New York Communities.”

Liuzzo added that he would also be willing to local at regional policing by trying to improve relationship with adjacent communities like the Town of Ellicott and Busti – which each have their own police force as well.

“Jamestown encompasses West Ellicott, Ellicott, Lakewood-Busti. What I would like to see is an inter-municipal police force. I would like us to negotiate instead of litigate with our neighbors and come to an agreement where we can use the existing police force we have outside of Jamestown to be the same police force. And to protect all of us. That’s one way I see of bringing the cost down, or at least maintaining the cost,” Liuzzo explained.

David Wilfong

Wilfong has served on the Chautauqua County Legislature since 2014 representing Jamestown. During his time in Mayville a report was completed by the Center or Governmental Rochester using over $200,000 in state money that provided a plan to consolidate the Jamestown Police Department with the County Sheriff’s office gradually, over two decades or no longer.

The consolidation would come at no additional cost to county taxpayers but would save Jamestown some money. That plan was never put up for a vote, let alone publicly discussed by Wilfong and his colleagues after it was completed.

• VIEW THE CGR REPORT

Wilfong said he agrees that regional policing may be better solution, though the push should come from the state, not the local, level.

” It would have been very difficult to put together a group of people that would have voted in favor of the consolidation. I don’t know if that would ever go off. I’ve seen it, I’ve read the document and I actually think it was a good proposal. But one of the things is, ‘Do we want a change?’ I don’t know if the Jamestown Police Department wants to merge and I don’t know if the sheriff wants to merge,” Wilfong said. “I did see the figures and the cost savings would be good for the city of Jamestown and a flat cost the county. But we’re talking about the county legislators and you’ve got to get them on board with their own districts. Because what they’re going to say is, ‘How does that benefit my district. I live in Silver Creek or I live in Findley Lake.’ It’s a hard sell.”

Instead, Wilfong said he’d prefer to see the effort to deal with police costs lead by the state representatives, similar to what former Sen. Cathy Young had worked on with school districts.

“I am not against it. I think to make change and to move our county forward and our state forward, we’ve got to start thinking consolidation. I don’t know at the mayor level what can be done there. I think that needs to be done more at the state level – maybe our assemblyman or our next senator. I think that is where that type of change has to come from,” Wilfong said.

The complete audio of our interview with Liuzzo and Wilfong can be found at our website.

Liuzzo and Wilfong will square off in the June 25 Republican Primary, which runs from noon to 9 p.m. and is eligible to all 3800 registered republicans living in the city.

While it’s true the statute in the State’s  Civil Service Law (Taylor Law) Section 209 involving the arbitration process refers to the award decision of an arbitration panel as “final and binding,” that doesn’t mean the determination can’t be challenged in a court of law.

In addition, the actual term used to describe the onset of the arbitration process is “Compulsory Interest Arbitration.” It is given this term because if one of the two parties determines contract negotiations are at an impasse and beyond the point of mediation, then it can request the state Public Relations Employment Board (PERB) refer the dispute to an arbitration panel, regardless of whether or not the other party also agrees with moving forward with arbitration (Section 209-4(c)(i)).  As a result, the party that didn’t initiate the arbitration is still required, or “compulsed,” to participate.

An arbitration panel is a three-member panel made up of one representative from each of the two sides involved in the contract negotiations, along with a third, independent party appointed by PERB. Once the arbitration panel has been created and hears all the required and necessary testimony and arguments involving the contract dispute, in then will make a determination and award a decision, which is “final and binding” (Section 209-4(c)(vi)) on the parties. The term “final and binding” in this case means that neither party is required to vote to give final ratification to the decision and that once in place can not be changed or altered without the consent from both parties.

There is also a process in place to legally challenge the Compulsory Interest Arbitration process. If either party disagrees with the arbitration panel’s award decision, the Taylor Law clearly states that decision shall be subject to review by an appropriate court of law (Section 209-4(c)(vii)).

In the case involving the city of Jamestown and the Kendall Club Police Benevolent Association‘s 2016-17 labor contract, it was the union that requested in early 2018 that the contract dispute move into the arbitration phase after it felt the two sides were at an impasse, mostly due to the union seeking a 5 percent salary increase while the city didn’t want to offer any increase. As a result of that request by the union, the city was “compulsed” to also participate.

The arbitration panel delivered its decision in October 2018 and it settled on a 2 percent increase for the union, along with other provisions as well. That decision was “final and binding” only if neither side opted to call for for a judicial review. However, the Jamestown City Council voted in November to exercise the city’s right to call for that review, saying the award violated the 70-percent weighting factor statute that is required to be used when dealing with a fiscally eligible municipality’s ability to pay (Section 209-6(e)). As a result, the matter is being taken up in State Supreme Court.

When the city council voted to call for the review of the decision, Councilman Andrew Liuzzo (R-At Large) voted against it. He later explained his vote to WRFA.

“If you’re going to agree to binding arbitration, it seems to me the word ‘binding’ – that’s what you agreed to. So whether you like it or not, we agreed to binding arbitration. To send that to litigation, I think is a waste of funds” Liuzzo said.

While it’s well within Liuzzo’s right to be against the challenge based on the cost associated with the legal process (the council voted to spend $25,000 on attorney fees on the arbitration challenge and which Liuzzo also voted against), it appears he is unaware that the city was actually compulsed under state law to participate in the initial arbitration process, rather than voluntarily agreeing to enter into it.

In addition to councilman Liuzzo, some members of the community have spoken out against the arbitration challenge.

“Binding arbitration means just that,” wrote one local resident on our Facebook page after we ran a story on the arbitration challenge. “It was proven there was money on the books to pay, but rather than accept it the politicians chose to flex a muscle they did not have.”

Arguments in the arbitration challenge will be made in Chautauqua County State Supreme Court on Monday, March 18. The Kendall Club is being represented by legal counsel from Fessenden, Laumer & De Angelo while the city will be represented by Bond, Schoeneck & King.