Mayor, Fire Union President Say Negotiations Making Positive Progress

Woonsocket Mayor Leo Fontaine and Firefighter's Union President Mike Morin say negotiations have made positive progress, an incremental step in tying up one of two loose ends in the Budget Commission's five-year-plan.

Since the firefighters union contract doesn't run out till the end of June 2014, they've so far been immune to "enactments" passed by the Commission in April imposing changes on expired union agreements. Last week, the Budget Commission tabled enactments referred to the agenda which Council President and Commission member John Ward said don't concern  elements of firefighter employment covered under their contract.

On Friday, Fontaine said the negotiations have made progress. "There's very positive talks right now," he said. 

"There was a little progress," said Morin, during a meeting on July 12. Morin said the Budget Commission is still not giving the union any "latitude", however. He said the talks will continue after RI Director of Revenue Rosemary Booth Gallogly returns from vacation in early August. 

Morin said whatever agreement union leaders negotiate with the city will still have to pass the vote of the union membership, so he's not going to support something he knows they won't vote for.

Last week, Ward said the enactment agenda item for the firefighters was tabled because negotiations were continuing. "If they make an enactment, wil will challenge that," Morin said.

There are already two legal challenges to the Budget Commission's plan, with a potential third brewing: A police union retiree has filed suit against the Budget Commission charging that enacted changes the Commission made to the policeman's contract violate Constitution's Contract Clause, according to the Woonsocket Call, which notes the police union has filed a grievance as well.

A .pdf of instructions for donating to the Woonsocket Legal Defense Fund,   set up by Roland Michaud to fight the supplemental tax billing he says is based on savings illegally determined by the Budget Commission, is posted to Mywoonsocket.com. 

According to the .pdf, Michaud started the fund with Dick Bouchard, a project that began on WNRI’s Upfront show, to hire an attorney to represent the taxpayers of Woonsocket. Michaud asked taxpayers to hold off on paying their bills until Aug. 31, the deadline to avoid penalties, during the July 15 Budget Commission meeting. By then, he said, he expected to have guidance from his lawyer on the matter.

"We said from the beginning that we expect the challenges," to the 5-year-plan, Fontaine said. If any of them are successful, and force the city into bankruptcy instead, a stated objective of several opponents to the 5-year-plan, "It's only going to make this more expensive for everybody," he said.