(From Left to Right): Elliot Raimondo, City Corporation Counsel; Crystal Surdyk, Director of Development; Jennifer Williams, City Clerk; and Jeff Lehman, Director of Public Works, are sworn in for their respective positions during the Jan. 27, 2020 Jamestown City Council Meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The city of Jamestown officially has a new Director of Development, City Clerk, and City Attorney.

On Monday night the Jamestown City Council approved mayor Eddie Sundquist’s appointments for various city departments, agencies, board and commissions. The appointments were initially submitted on Jan. 1 but the city council waited until this past Monday’s voting session to approve them.

Crystal Surdyk, who had been serving as acting director of development since Vince DeJoy resigned in last November, has been appointed to the position for the next four years. Prior to being acting director of development she worked in the city’s planning department.

Meanwhile, Elliot Raimondo will serve as the city’s new corporation counsel, replacing Peter Larson, who was only in the position for about eight months as he finished the term of former city attorney Marilyn Fiore-Lehman. She had left the post in the spring of 2019 shortly after former Mayor Sam Teresi announced he would not be seeking reelection. Raimonodo is a Jamestown native and a 2015 SUNY Buffalo Law School graduate. His background is in labor contracts and collective bargaining.

The new city clerk will be Jennifer Williams, who will replace outgoing acting clerk Jim Olson. Williams was not Sundquists first selection for city clerk. The initial appointment he had submitted on January 1 was Rudi Andalora. However, since then, Andolara’s name was withdrawn and Williams was added instead.

“In looking at the best talents and where people fit in, we’re looking at a potential different position for [Andalora]. In the meantime, Jennifer Williams, who was the deputy clerk, has stepped up to become the new clerk for the city and the council has been fully supportive of that,” Sundquist said.

Andolara had not previously worked in the city clerk’s office prior to Sundquist putting his name forward. Meanwhile, Williams has served as long-time staff member of the clerk’s office working under both Olson and former city clerk Todd Thomas.

Also being reappointed was long-time city Department of Public Works Director Jeff Lehman.

OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL
*Notes Reappointment

• Board of Public Utilities – Gregory Anderson, Lana Huston, Kenneth Mark, Grant Olson (city council), Marie Carrubba* (city council)
• Zoning Board of Appeals – Timothy Smeal, Stephen Sorg, Ellen DiTonto*
• Planning Commission – Michael Laurin
• Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency – Gregory Noon
• Jamestown Local Development Corporation – Peter Schiera, Margaret Kaltenmeier, Tom Nelson* (city council)
• Board of Assessment Review – Heather Fagan, Debra Loder-Clark
• Parks, Recreation and Conservation – Adam Irgang, John Bauer*, Victoria James (city council), Kim Ecklund* (city council)
• Riverfront Management Council – Leigh Rovegno, Russ Diethrick*, John Bauer*, David Anderson*, Anton Leenders*, Jennifer Lumia*, Brent Sheldon (city council)
• Veterans Memorial Commission – Scott Pentheny, Joshua Miller, George Spitale*, Daniel Kell*
• Board of Electrical Examiners – Andrew Nickerson, Steven Nowell*
• Marriage Officer – Camille Krawczyk, Greg Rabb*, Paul Whitford*

The Jamestown City Council accepted the resignation of city attorney Marilyn Fiore-Lehman during its March 2019 voting session.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council last night approved the resignation of longtime city attorney Marilyn Fiore-Lehman and accepted the appointment of attorney Peter Larson as corporation counsel, effective April 11.

The move comes as Fiore-Lehman informed city officials she has accepted a position as an Assistant District Attorney with the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s office.

Fiore-Lehman has served as the city’s top attorney for 19 years and Mayor Sam Teresi noted that she will be difficult to replace.

“She’s done a terrific job for us through some very difficult and trying challenges. These are definitely going to be big shoes to fill and her presence is going to be missed dearly,” Teresi said. “On the other hand, she’s going to be here for the next two-plus weeks. Peter will be in later this week and he’s be working on a three-quarters time basis.”

Teresi said that the three-quarters basis for Larson is due primarily to the term of corporation counsel ending this coming December when the mayoral term also ends. Because it is not known who the next mayor will be and Teresi has announced he will not be seeking reelection, Teresi acknowledges it wouldn’t be fair to expect any new corporation counsel to sign on for a full-time basis given the uncertainty of what may come after this year.

Meanwhile, Teresi said that like Fiore-Lehman, Larson will be busy with the day-to-day tasks that come with serving as corporation counsel.

“Corporation Counsel’s position is not only the lawyer for the city, but also represents the city in court – housing court, traffic court – and is also, with restructurings that we’ve done in the past, is they city’s human resource director. She’s been the chief contract negotiator, handling grievances, handling employee disputes, litigation against the city, so it is an all-encompassing position. Full time and then some,” the mayor said.

Fiore-Lehman’s announced departure is the second such resignation by a city officer in as many months. Last month the council accepted former City Clerk Todd Thomas’s resignation as he left city government to also take a job with the the county in the County Attorney’s office.

Larson, meanwhile, comes from the local law office of Bly, Sheffield, Bargar and Pillitieri. He is a Jamestown native with a law degree from Case Western University and was was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2015.

Last October the three-member arbitration panel ruled 2 to 1 that – among other things – the city must provide a retroactive, 2 percent salary increase for all members of the Jamestown Kendall Club police union for the years covering 2016 and 2017. In November the Jamestown City Council voted 7 to 1 in favor of challenging the arbitration decision, saying it would be a violation of its fiduciary duty to comply with an award that city officials believe violates a 2013 arbitration statute that is supposed to weigh the ability for the municipality to pay (Civil Service Law S 209).

In an interview this week with WRFA, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi reasserted the city’s position on the matter.

“The city’s arbitration panel member [then-clerk Todd Thomas] felt that the decision was not in compliance with the revised state arbitration law from 2013 in the fact there was no consideration whatsoever as to the city’s ability to pay, with a 70-percent weighting on the overall decision on that factor alone,” Teresi said. “If you read the October arbitration decision, there is very little that talks about that. There was three days of testimony that was virtually ignored by the panel about the city being at its constitutional taxing limit. We had one full day of testimony and cross examination about the city’s legal ability and practical ability to go in and raid its water and electrical utilities’ profits that no longer exist in sufficient supply to basically pay this raise.”

While the mayor and city council say the 70-percent weight factor wasn’t fully addressed in the arbitration panel’s decision, the the Kendall Club painted a different picture in both its arguments before the arbitration panel as well as in its pre-filing documents in the case that will go before the State Supreme Court. They say the statute was indeed fully considered and that was clearly reflected in the majority decision of the arbitration panel.

The 44-page decision by the Arbitration Panel also specifically addresses the weighting threshold.  It reads, in part:

“As Jamestown has been designated a ‘Fiscally eligible municipality,’ the Panel is required to give preponderant weight to the City’s ability to pay in making its determinations. As the City has argued that it does not have the ability to grant improvement in wages and benefits, the threshold question for the Panel is whether any increases in employee compensation can be awarded. There is certainly evidence in the record that the city faces fiscal challenges.”

While acknowledging the concerns the city brought forward in its argument, the arbitration panel also stated:

“With respect to the city’s position, however, the record contains countervailing evidence that weakens the case for a two-year freeze in police pay. Despite stresses it faced, the City’s careful and skillful budgeting resulted in a surplus of more than $1.2 million in 2017, despite the fact that, unlike in previous years, it received no profit-sharing revenue from its Board of Public Utilities. The Office of the State Comptroller, in its assessment of the City’s finances, issued ‘no designation’ of fiscal stress for 2016, and the Union’s expert witness, Kevin Decker, testified persuasively that the data available for 2017 strongly suggested an even better score from the Comptroller for that year. Also relevant is the fact that the city voluntarily agreed to 2016 and 2017 pay increases for all of its other bargaining units, a result that is difficult to square with the argument that there is simply no ability at all to grant any wage increase to the police officers.”

In addition, the arbitration decision addressed use of profits from the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities for the city’s general operating budget.

“There is no dispute that a municipality is entitled to a fair return on its investment in a utility. It is also undisputed that for several years prior to 2017 the City sought and received a profit-sharing payment from the BPU (most recently about $482,000), in addition to the payments that the BPU makes annually in lieu of property taxes. The city points out that it does not have the unfettered authority to use an unlimited amount of the BPU’s revenues for general municipal purposes… but to say that authority in this regard is not ‘unfettered’ or ‘unlimited’ is not to say that it cannot be exercised at all. In this case the City made a business decision not to seek any profit-sharing payments from the BPU for 2017, and we do not doubt that this decision was a reasoned one given the BPU’s needs. At the same time, one of the consequences was the forgoing of revenue that could have been used to help underwrite a police-pay increase of some magnitude, rather than implement a pay freeze for two years. An argument that granting a pay increase funded in part by the BPU would have involved risk is not the same as the argument that there is no ability to pay.”

After acknowledging the weighting factor and focusing on the city’s case that it wasn’t financially capable of issuing a salary increase for police, the arbitration panel still concluded “that some pay increases of some magnitude are within the city’s ability to pay, although none approaching the [5 percent] increases demanded by the Union.”

MAYOR RESPONDS TO PLATTSBURGH CASE

The Kendall Club also argues in the upcoming State Supreme Court case that a recent and similar court case from Plattsburgh, NY involving a contract with its firefighters’ union has already addressed the challenge by Jamestown officials. They claim that case set a precedent that the State Supreme Court isn’t responsible for second guessing a decision from a duly created state arbitration panel, so long as the 70-percent weighting factor, along with all other applicable state law, was considered in making a final decision.

Sam Teresi

Still, Teresi says there are different circumstances at play between the financial challenges facing Plattsburgh and those affecting Jamestown.

“Different place. Different impacts on the budget. Different court. As well as different financial abilities from that community. My guess is without knowing Plattsburgh’s numbers but being sufficiently aware of what’s happening in most cities across the state, Plattsburgh also has financial challenges on the table. I do not believe, however, that they are one of the communities like Jamestown that are at or near their constitutional taxing limit,” The mayor noted.

Teresi also provided more details on the cost associated with the arbitration ruling, saying the retroactive increase were to go forward it would cost the city an estimated $800,000 in this year’s budget. He also said that more costs could come forward if a similar increase were required for the Jamestown Professional Firefighters Association, whose contract for 2016 and 17 is also at an impasse with the city and is awaiting the final outcome of the police union case.

The arguments in Supreme Court involving the police contract arbitration decision are scheduled for 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.

Meanwhile, WRFA’s full interview with Mayor Teresi, including additional comments on the arbitration case as well as the upcoming BPU substation Annexation Case, will be broadcast Thursday (March 7) afternoon at 5pm, Friday (March 8) afternoon at 2pm, and Sunday (March 10) at noon.

Todd Thomas

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council has accepted the resignation of the Jamestown City Clerk.

On Monday night the council accepted the resignation of current clerk and administrative services director Todd Thomas and also acted on appointing former Clerk Jim Olson as the acting clerk for the remainder of this year.

The action came after Thomas informed the mayor and city council he accepted a job as Chautauqua County assistant attorney.

Thomas became clerk in August 2017 when Olson retired from the position. He was appointed to serve for at least the remainder of Olson’s term, which expires at the end of this year.

Olson will be returning on a part-time basis and will finish the rest of the current term. The winner of the 2019 mayoral election in November will appoint a new clerk in January 2020, pending majority approval from the City Council.

The panel met earlier this year to hear testimony from both sides, with the independent arbitrator and chairman of the panel being Howard Foster. The other two panel members were City clerk Todd Thomas and John Crotty, who will serve on behalf of the police officers.

Following testimony and deliberation, the panel released its 44-page ruling on the matter, with a key provision being that all wages for union members shall be increased by 2 percent for both the years 2016 and 2017.

• READ COMPLETE 44-PAGE ARBITRATION RULING

While both Foster and Crotty concurred to the pay-raise decision, Thomas dissented, claiming the city doesn’t have the funding available to afford the raises due to its reaching its constitutional tax limit. That was contrary to the union’s argument that although the city may not have been able to use tax revenue to pay for a salary hike, the city did have other means to make the payment, primarily from dividend payments from profits made by the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities.

Thomas disagreed.

“The city cannot increase taxes, cannon unilaterally alter the [BPU tax equivalency], and cannot budget a [BPU] dividend where there are insufficient profits or knowledge of profits. In short, the city lacks the ability to pay a substantial wage increase,” Thomas wrote in his opinion, adding, “Apart from a general inability to pay, the evidence was insufficient to prove that the Union requires an increase in wages.”

As part of the pay-raise issue, the arbitration ruling also stated that the retroactive raise must be made to the members no later than Dec. 15, 2018.

In addition to the pay raise, the panel also ruled in a 2 to 1 decision that effective December 31, 2017, members of the union shall pay 19 percent toward the total monthly premium for health and dental insurance and effective January 1, 2015, any employee or retiree who doesn’t participate in the city’s voluntary health and wellness program will see their premiums payment set at 26 percent, effective Dec. 31, 2017. The union dissented to this portion of the ruling.

“I believe the record of evidence supports a wage increase higher than what was awarded by the Chairman and it did not support the increase in employee payments toward the cost of health insurance that the city sought and was awarded which erodes the value of the wage increase,” Crotty wrote in his opinion. “That said, the award is the ‘just and reasonable determination of the matters in dispute’ that the Taylor Law requires.”

The arbitration panel also unanimously ruled that effective January 1, 2016 all employees who have completed 17 years of service shall receive longevity payment of $3,000 per year thereafter.

Because the arbitration decision was only posted on the state Public Employment Relations Board website on Wednesday, WRFA is unable to get immediate comment from city officials on what the financial impact would be for the city to make the retroactive salary payments as ordered by the arbitration panel.

The Jamestown City Council is currently working on a budget for 2019 and the additional payment to the police union will likely factor into that discussion in the coming weeks.

The decision could also have an impact on the city’s contract with its firefighters union, since both the police and fire union involve public safety employees who have traditionally had very similar, if not identical, contracts. The 2016 and 2017 labor contract with the firefighters is also currently at an impasse and could go to arbitration as well, unless the two sides agree to follow the terms laid out in the police union contract arbitration decision.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi

JAMESTOWN – The wait continues for a decision regarding the arbitration case between the city of Jamestown and its police officer’s union.

That from Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, who told WRFA during his August interview it’s still not known when the final decision from the three-member arbitration panel will be handed down.

“Oral arguments have been made, written papers have been submitted and the three-member arbitration panel is back doing their thing on their time-table and ultimately will come out with a decision so at this time we sit and wait for that decision,” Teresi said.

Officers with the Jamestown Police Department (Kendall Club) have been working under the terms of an expired contract since the start of 2016. Following months of negotiations which resulted in no new collective bargaining agreement, an impasse was reached and at the start of this year both sides decided to bring the matter before an arbitration panel.

In April and May attorneys for both the city and the union attended hearings on the matter in city hall. Those hearings were open to the public and Teresi says it gave the public an opportunity to get a first-hand look at the process.

“This time they decided to open up the doors and let sunshine into the room. Everybody could see what was going on in the arbitration process,” Teresi said. “Kudos to those that were willing to do that on the arbitration panel. Usually the public doesn’t see the ‘sausage being made’ as they say. It’s a long and arduous process and things are moving along in the process according to what the process dictates, from what we’ve seen before, though the public may not have seen it before.”

The Jamestown Post-Journal was on hand for the hearings, reporting the police union had proposed a 5 percent pay increase during negotiations, but were expecting a counter-offer from the city. However, the city made only one proposal, which was a zero percent pay increase for the officers. Because of this and other matters, the impasse was reached and the contract issue went to arbitration.

Since the conclusion of the hearings in mid-May, the two sides have been waiting for a decision to come forward.

The independent arbitrator for the panel is Howard Foster. The other two panel members selected by each party were City clerk Todd Thomas selected by the city and John Crotty selected by the police union.

The union contract with the city fire fighters also expired at the end 2015 but Teresi has said both sides will await a decision regarding the police contract before moving forward with finalizing the firefighters contract.

City officials are anxious to get a decision before the end of the 2019 budget process, which begins with the release of the executive budget in early October and concludes with the city council’s passage of the budget by the end of November.  The decision will help determine how much money the city would need to help balance the books in the coming fiscal year.

Jamestown city councilman Andrew Liuzzo (left) shares his thoughts and concerns regarding recent amendments to the bylaws of the Jamestown Local Development Corporation during the council’s Feb. 12 work session. The bylaw amendments included a transfer of the power of appointment for three of the nine JLDC board seats. During the meeting the council learned it did not have the ability to amend any of the JLDC bylaws.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council has received an update on the question of whether or not it would be able to make changes to the bylaws of the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (JLDC).

On Monday night City Attorney Marilyn Fiore-Lehman and City Clerk Todd Thomas explained why changes were made to the JLDC bylaws late last year without needing approval by the City Council.

Under the JLDC’s original bylaws, it stated that any amendments approved by the JLDC board of directors must also be approved by the full city council before going into effect.  However, the JLDC approved its new bylaws at the end of November 2017 and they immediately went into effect, without approval of the city council.

• Original 1981 JLDC Bylaws [PDF]
• Updated 2017 JLDC Bylaws [PDF]

Fiore-Lehman explained that because the city council had signed off on a new Certificate of Incorporation earlier in 2017, it meant that the JLDC could unilaterally change its bylaws without needing final approval from the city council.

“With the adoption of the certificate of incorporation which was approved by the State of New York, it essentially eliminated the need for the council to approve any further changes or amendments to the JLDC bylaws,” Fiore-Lehman said.

The issue of the bylaws being changed without council approval became a concern earlier this year with new council member Andrew Liuzzo (R-At Large), who noted that among those JLDC bylaw changes was a rule that shifts the power of appointment for three JLDC board seats from the organizations they represent over to the mayor, when the president of any of those respective organizations is unable to serve.

Liuzzo said he felt the changes gave the mayor too much power in deciding the makeup of the JLDC board and asked if it was possible for the city council to act on amending that section of the bylaws back to how it was originally written.  Under the revised bylaws, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi was able to appoint Jamestown Community College director of development Tim Smeal to represent the Manufacturer’s Association of the Southern Tier (MAST) on the JLDC board, rather than go with MAST’s selection of John Zabrodsky.

Last week Jamestown Mayor Teresi asked both Fiore-Lehman and Thomas to research the matter.

“What came out [of the research] is that the city council has never had the authority to change the [JLDC] bylaws,” Thomas explained. “Previously under the older documents there was the possibility of approval for changes that originated with the corporation, but it is a separate not-for-profit corporation akin to the Humane Society, or Infinity, or anything else. It’s just that the genesis [of the JLDC] came out of the city.”

• READ FULL FINDINGS LETTER [PDF]

Following Thomas’s explanation, Liuzzo then asked if it was possible for any of the three city council members who serve on the JLDC board to bring a resolution forward at the next JLDC meeting so it can at least be voted on.

“I’m just saying that we have an opportunity to make things right,” Liuzzo said. “Not everything we do is correct. Sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes we just need to look at it and say, ‘maybe we should change this and make things right.'”

The three council members that currently serve on the JLDC board are council president Marie Carrubba (D-Ward 4) and finance committee chair Tony Dolce (R-Ward 2) who each serve due to their respective roles on the city council. In addition, councilwoman Kim Ekclund (R-At Large) also serves as a city council appointee of the mayor.  All three appeared to be in support of the bylaw changes and as a result it’s unlikely they would bring the requested amendment resolution to the JLDC board.

The JLDC is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Jamestown City Council in April 1981 which serves as the lending agency of the City of Jamestown’s Department of Development. Recently it has been proposed that the JLDC serve as the purchasing agent of the city’s wastewater treatment plant by borrowing money to make the purchase and then using rates from the Board of Public Utilities Wastewater division to pay back the loan. The plan could generate as much as $16 million and serve as a capitol fund to address various city needs, including infrastructure, equipment and vehicles, and property tax stabilization.

The announcement was made via email Sunday afternoon by Mayor Sam Teresi’s assistant Matthew Hanley.

Officers with the Jamestown Police Department have been working under the terms of an expired contract since the start of 2016.

Following months of negotiations between the city and the Kendall Club PBA collective bargaining unit that resulted in no new collective bargaining agreement, the issue of finalizing a new contract for police union members was scheduled to go before an arbitration panel beginning Monday morning in City Hall.

The independent arbitrator for the panel will be Howard Foster. The other two panel members will be City clerk Todd Thomas representing the city’s interests and John Crotty, who will serve on behalf of the police officers.

Because the hearing was postponed indefinitely, a rescheduled date has not yet been set.

Following months of negotiations between the city and the Kendall Club PBA collective bargaining unit that resulted in no new collective bargaining agreement, the issue of finalizing a new contract for police union members will now go before an arbitration panel in February.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi last week said the arbitration hearing will be held Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 12-13. The independent arbitrator for the panel will be Howard Foster. The other two panel members will be City clerk Todd Thomas and John Crotty, who will serve on behalf of the police officers.

Because municipal contract negotiations do not take place in public, it is not known what the main sticking point or points were between the city and police union that lead to an impasse in negotiations.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi and the Jamestown City Council took time out at the end of the Aug. 29 2017 meeting to thank long-time city clerk James Olson, who’s retirement comes at the end of this month.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council has approved the appointment of attorney Todd Thomas as city clerk.

Thomas is filling the position that is being vacated by long-time clerk James “Jim” Olson, who announced earlier this month he would be accepting a position in the private sector.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, who got emotional during the meeting while thanking Olson for his years of service, said although Olson is retiring from his position, he’ll still be helping out the city in a voluntary capacity.

“Jim is staying here in the city and will continue to be a member of the city planning commission and board of assessment review,” Teresi said. “We’re more than friends and colleagues. We’re family and we’re going to remain family. Jim may be moving a couple blocks up the street as part of a certified public accounting firm, but he’ll remain a part of this community and a part of city government, he just won’t be reporting to work on the first floor of city hall every day.”

Olson’s tenure with city government began in 1981 when he was hired as Executive Assistant to former Mayor Steven Carlson. He was then appointed by Carlson to serve as City Clerk in 1985 and then as City Clerk/Treasurer in 1992, where he served until January 1994 when he left city government to start his own Records and Information Management firm, before returning in 2000.

Todd Thomas

As part of the Thomas appointment, the council also approved a change in the title from Director of Financial Services/City Clerk to Director of Administrative Services/City Clerk, to more accurately reflect the breadth and scope of the position. The council also approved an adjustment to the pay scale for the position. Mayor Teresi said that adjustment will result in an annual savings to the city budget of nearly $30,000.

“The position has changed and we felt that the new title better reflects the scope and the breadth of the position. It’s more than just a financial position – it is that, but it’s much more than that,” Teresi said. “We also took the opportunity to restructure the salary schedule on it and there’s going to be a net savings to the taxpayers of the city.”

Thomas has been a city resident and a practicing attorney throughout Chautauqua County since 2004.  He was only just recently appointed to the city zoning board and also brought in as corporation council to assist the city with addressing zombie properties, with that role being paid for by a grant from the state attorney general’s office. He’s also serving as corporation council for the village of Fredonia.

Because the changes to the title must be made in the city charter via a local law, the city council took emergency action on the matter. Typically a local law must wait 30 days after being introduced before it can be acted on. A public hearing on the title change will take place on Sept. 14 at 9 a.m. in the mayor’s conference room of city hall.