Budget Commission Split On 30-Day Delay Of Police Promotions

The Budget Commission voted to delay action on two police promotions Monday morning, with Mayor Leo Fontaine casting a lone dissenting vote after making the original motion to approve the promotions.

Commission Members Peder Schaefer and Council President John Ward did not vote on the motion.

In question was whether to promote a sergeant to fill an open lieutenant's position and promote an officer to fill an open sergeant's position. Filling the lieutenant's position will also create a vacant sergeant's position, said Police Chief Thomas Carey, since it will be filled by promoting a current sergeant.

After the vote, Carey said the department would continue filling the open slots with overtime pay, though he said long-term the situation could burn out supervising officers and damage morale.

Fontaine made the original motion to approve the promotions, which City Council President John Ward seconded. Budget Commission Chairman Bill Sequino made a motion to ammend to include a 30-day delay on the decison.

"I have a motion and a second. My motion deserves a vote," Fontaine said when Sequino suggested the ammendment. Sequino said it would get one, but first the ammendment had to be voted on. It passed with Fontaine voting no and Dina Dutremble and Sequino voting yes. Schaefer and Ward did not vote.

Earlier in the meeting, Fontaine made an argument to approve the promotions for the sake of public safety, and to ensure leadership for a generally green police force. "The majority of our officers are fresh. They're new," Fontaine said.

Carey also noted the need for experienced leadership on the force. "They really need some guidance and some supervision," Carey said.

Carey said the shift involved would be the morning shift, beginning at 12 a.m. Ideally, he said, the shift should have two supervisors, who would each aid a group of six to seven officers. Without the new promotions, some supervising officers would get paid overtime to fill those slots occasionally, Carey said. The promotions would not take patrol officers off the streets, Carey said at the last meeting.

The morning shift is a very busy one, Carey said, and the supervising officer working it is usually in high demand assisting patrol officers. "It can be very taxing on the supervisor," Carey said. He said that in addition to overtime expense, continually leaning on officers to work extra hours could burn them out. "It's a lot when one of these individuals has to work overtime," Carey said.

Fontaine argued to approve the promotions to save the city money in overtime, and to generate good will with the police union in upcoming negotiations with the Budget Commission. Also, he argued, union grievances will continue to pile up.

Already, Carey told the commission last week, the police union has filed a grievance on the open sergeant's position, since it has remained open 30 days in violation of the police contract with the city (which expired June 30). Also, he said, an officer has filed a grievance about not getting promoted, and the personnel board has ruled in his favor.

Carey also mentioned the issue of whether the Budget Commission would honor the expired police union contract, upon which the grievances are based, hasn't been decided.

Ward suggested contracting a consultant to assess the efficiency and organization of the police department, but Sequino said that may prove fruitless. Ward responded it was if members of the commission have already decided how to reorganize the police department. Sequino said that was not the case.

The ammended motion to wait 30 days before deciding the promotions passed 2 to 1, with Fontaine voting no and Dutremble and Sequino voting yes.

The Commission also approved:

• $101,459 in police sick leave pay for FY2013
• Extending police acting rank pay (a bump in pay for officers in roles higher than their official rank) for 30 days. (The full-year's cost for this item for FY2013 is $12,604.80.)
• Scheduling a decision on spending $69,579 for police retirement Cost Of Living Allowance (COLA) increase in 30 days.