Exh 15MINUTES OF THE HEARING HELD IN ATLANTIC BEACH COMMISSION CHAMBERS AT
5:00 PM ON MONDAY,NOVEMBER 3,2003 TO SE 1 1"LE THE IMPASSE iN NEGOTIATIONS
BETWEEN THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH AND FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE
UNION
Present: John S. Meserve, Mayor
Richard M. Beaver, Commissioner
Mike Borno, Commissioner
Paul B. Parsons, Commissioner
J. Dezmond Waters, III
Also: Jim Hanson, City Manager
Alan C. Jensen, City Attorney
Maureen King, City Clerk
Gary Evans, Union Negotiator
George Foster, City Negotiator
The Mayor called the meeting to order and explained that the parties were at impasse on several
issues and asked the City Attorney to explain the parameters of a quasi-judicial hearing.
Alan Jensen explained that a quasi-judicial hearing was similar to a court case and that the City
Commission would make their decisions based on the evidence presented to them by the City and
Union at this hearing. Shade meetings were held and guidance was given to staff but no decisions had
been made on the items at impasse. Both parties had waived the right to go to a Special Master for
resolution of the impasse and the matter was before the City Commission to resolve all issues.
The Mayor said each party would have thirty minutes to present its case and ten minutes would be
allowed for rebuttal, following which the public would be given an opportunity to address the City
Commission and would be asked to limit their remarks to two minutes.The City Commission would
then act on the issues at impasse.
George Foster presented the City's position on the issues at impasse, as follows:
1. Wages (Article 26)
The City wished to retain Palmer and Cay merit pay system. The pay scale would be
increased by 3%and employees with more than six months service to the City would receive
an increase equal to 6% of the new mid point of the pay scale.
Detective Pay: The City proposed that Detectives receive a 10% increase.
Page Two
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
2. Bonuses (Article 26)
Retain the employee performance bonus as a one-time bonus that would be paid in addition to
the employee's regular pay.
3. Out of Position Pay (Article 26)
Retain the current policy of paying an additional 5%to employees who were required to work
out of their normal work classification for a period of four hours or more.
4. Overtime (Article 17)
Change the current policy of paying overtime for hours worked that exceed the daily work
shift and pay overtime for hours worked after 80 hours in a two-week period. Paid holidays,
paid compensatory time taken,personal leave taken and other approved leave taken, except
donated leave, to be included as "hours worked" for the purpose of overtime payment.
5. A. Promotions (Article 29)
Allow the City to determine the selection process to allow promotions to be based on the
most qualified applicant for the job.
B. Pay Increase—Promotion to Sergeant
Pay an additional 12% for promotion to Sergeant
6. Holidays (Article 12)
A. Change Employee's Birthday holiday to 8 hours of personal leave.
B. Currently employees who work 10-hour shifts receive 100 hours of holiday pay while
employees who work 8-hour days receive 80 hours of holiday pay. Change this
section to pay all employees 80 hours of holiday pay.
7. Uniforms (Article 23)
Delete mandated uniform items. The City provides all police officers with the necessary and
required uniforms and equipment to perform their jobs.
8. Bulletin Boards (Article 22)
Change current policy to allow the City to remove inappropriate material from Union bulletin
boards.
Page Three
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
9. FOP Time Pool (Article 6)
This time pool has not been used for many years. Delete this outdated provision.
10. Effective Date (Article 33)
Mr. Foster requested that the new contract become effective on November 10, 2003
A copy of Mr. Foster's handout is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
Although not presented in the same order as the City's position, the Union's position on the issues
at impasse is set forth below in the same order as presented by the City).
Gary Evans presented the Union's position on the issues at impasse, as follows:
1. Article 26 Wages:
The Union proposed to replace the Palmer and Cay pay plan with a step pay plan with 2%
step increments; provide all police officers with a"one-time" conversion pay adjustment to
enter the step plan based upon their current length of service; provide employees with a
longevity step pay increase of 2% on their anniversary dates; effective October 1, 2004,
provide a 4%pay increase plus a 2%longevity step increase;and Effective October 1,2005,
provide a 4% pay increase plus a 2% longevity step increase.
2.Article 26 Bonuses
The Union proposed that bonuses be included within an employee's base pay and not a one-
time payment.
3. Out of Position Pay (Article 26)
The Union requested that the rate of pay be increased from the current 5% to 15% when
employees are required to work out of their normal positions for a period of four hours, or
more.
4. Overtime (Article 17)
The Union supported the current policy of paying overtime for any hours worked that
exceeded the daily schedule.
Page Four
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
5. A. Promotions (Article 29)
The Union supported retaining the current promotional process which requires that there
must be five eligible applicants before a written test could be given;applicants must have two
years of service with the city;and upon completion of the testing procedure,the list ofthe top
five successful applicants would remain in effect for promotional purposes for a period oftwo
years.
B. Pay Increase—Promotion to Sergeant
The Union requested that employees receive a 15% increase upon promotion to Sergeant
6. Holidays (Article 12)
A. Change Employee's Birthday holiday to Police Memorial Day, May 15
B. Provide 80 hours off with pay if an employee works an 8-hour day and provide 100
hours off with pay if an employee works a 10-hour day.
7. Uniforms (Article 23)
The Union requested that a dress hat with insignia,two long sleeve shirts and a snap-on tie be
added to the required uniform list.
8. Bulletin Boards (Article 22)
The Union supported retaining the current policy that provides that material posted on the
FOP bulletin board within the Police Department may only be removed by the FOP.
9. FOP Time Pool (Article 6)
The Union supported the current contractual language that allows police officers to donate
leave time into a pool to be used by the Union Representative to attend meetings and training.
10. Effective Date (Article 33)
Mr. Evans requested that the new contract be made retroactive to October 1, 2003.
A copy of Mr. Evans' handout is attached hereto as Exhibit B.
Page Five
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
During rebuttal, Mr. Foster made the following points:
Wages: A pay study was conducted to resolve pay issues and a new classification and pay
plan was implemented. Mr.Foster explained that the new plan would not perpetuate the pay
compression problems that had existed in the past. He said that comparisons with the other
beach cities had indicated that Atlantic Beach's pay scale was competitive until about the
seventh year. He said that while the pay plan would need to be modified over time, he
thought it was best for the City to stick with the plan. Mr. Foster said that exit interviews
were conducted with employees who left and found that pay was not the primary reason for
leaving.
Promotions: Based on the small number of officers, Mr. Foster said the city needed
flexibility to promote based on performance. He said that while seniority should be a
consideration, promotion should be based on performance.
Holidays: The City currently has eleven holidays. Based on 10-hour days, police officers
get 110 hours holiday pay. The City proposes to reduce the holiday hours to 100. Mr.Foster
explained how holiday pay and overtime was paid to police officers who worked on a holiday.
Uniforms: The City does not provide a Class A uniform which includes a hat, long sleeve
shirt and tie, for every officer. However,requests for Class A uniforms would be considered
on a case by case basis as needed.
FOP Time Pool: If implemented, records would have to be maintained on a manual basis.
Bulletin Board: The City felt that in the event the FOP Chairman was on leave, it may not
always be possible to remove inappropriate material in a timely manner and was, therefore,
requesting a change in the current policy to allow management to remove any inappropriate
material.
During rebuttal, Mr. Evans made the following points:
Mr. Evans said he appreciated that the City had made an effort to determine the cause of
turnover in the Police Department and understood that there was not as much of an
opportunity for promotion or for meeting career goals in a small city like Atlantic Beach as
there would be in a larger police department. He thought the implementation of a step pay
plan would help to make Atlantic Beach more competitive but pointed out that other cities
were currently negotiating new contracts following which,there would probably be a larger
discrepancy between Atlantic Beach and neighboring cities. He did not feel the Palmer and
Cay plan would keep pace with other cities and thought that Atlantic Beach should strive to
be one of the best places to work with one of the best paid police departments in the county,
which he said, would result in a larger pool of applicants when vacancies occurred.
Page Six
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
Regarding promotions, he thought the city needed to have a fair procedure in which
promotions were not arbitrarily decided but one in which employees could compete fairly for
promotions.
The Mayor opened the floor and invited comments from the audience.
John Murr said he had operated a business in Atlantic Beach for eighteen years and had
established a good relationship with the police department and would like to keep experienced
police officers who knew him and his business. He said he would be glad to contribute to the
cost of the Class A uniforms if cost was the problem.
Penny Reilly, 159 Third Street said she was surprised to learn that Neptune Beach police
officers were paid better than Atlantic Beach. She said she had called the Police Department
several times over the years and would like to be able to keep experienced officers.
Officer Raynor, Chairman of FOP Bargaining Unit, said that the working conditions,
turnovers, and pay scale, impact the patrolmen who are trying to do their jobs. He thought
the need to continually train new officers affected the morale and physical stamina of officers.
He pointed out that some of the issues at impasse had been in the contract for many years and
had not been a problem. He asked that the City not reduce any existing benefits.
Penny Kamish, 193 Beach Avenue, said the City should strive to retain experienced officers
and not have to have the expense of training new officers.
Detective Hatfield, noted that the City's position was to treat all employees equally.
However, he thought police officers had a different and unique job and should be treated
accordingly.
Jim Hunliff said he knew several police officers who were actively looking for jobs but they
did not consider Atlantic Beach because of the pay scale, take home car policy, and
promotional opportunities. While the City may not be able to do much about the promotional
opportunities he thought the pay and benefits should be improved.
Jody Richards, resident and business owner, expressed concern regarding the cost of
turnover. She did not think that a 6%pay increase was excessive and thought the city should
compromise in other areas to be able to retain experienced officers.
Since no one else wished to speak the Mayor closed the public comments and the City Commission
addressed each issue individually.
Page Seven
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
1. Article 26 Wages
Commissioner Borno moved to adopt the City's position regarding wages. (Retain
Palmer and Cay merit pay system. The pay scale would be increased by 3% and employees
with more than six months service to the City would receive an increase equal to 6% of the
mid point of the pay scale. Detective to receive a 10%increase.) The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Parsons.
Discussion ensued and it was pointed out that the Palmer and Cay plan would be revisited
every 3-5 years. Commissioner Waters did not support either the Palmer and Cay plan or the
Union proposal. He felt a compromise should be reached on the issue of wages and said he
preferred a step plan.
Commissioner Beaver asked if Atlantic Beach's rate of pay was lower than Neptune Beach.
Mr.Foster thought the pay in Atlantic Beach was comparable to Neptune Beach but indicated
that Neptune Beach police officers had received considerable increases in the past few years.
He pointed out that pay raises were given in Neptune Beach based on the completion of
various training. Dir. Thompson said he, too, had compared the Neptune Beach pay scale
with Atlantic Beach and said that while the pay scales were comparable in the early years,
there was a considerable disparity after about seven years. Commissioner Beaver felt that pay
was the major issue and challenged the City to aggressively look at ways to make things
better for the police and find ways to be able to afford a better rate of pay.
Following further discussion it was agreed that the two proposals before the City Commission
were very different and Mr. Evans and Mr. Foster agreed they could continue negotiations on
this issue if the City Commission wished. The Mayor said he was opposed to a step plan and
supported the City's position but agreed that the pay of senior officers would have to be
addressed.
Following further discussion, the motion carried on a vote of 4-1 with Commissioner
Waters voting nay.
2.Article 26 Bonuses
Commissioner Borno moved to accept the City's position regarding bonuses(Retain the
employee performance bonus as a one-time payment in addition to the employee's regular
pay). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Parsons.
Following brief discussion the motion carried on a vote of 4-1 with Commissioner Waters
voting nay.
Page Eight
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
3.Out of Position Pay (Article 26)
Commissioner Borno moved to adopt the City's position regarding out of position pay.
Retain the current policy of paying an additional 5% to employees who were required to
work out of their normal work classification for over four hours). The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Beaver.
Commissioner Borno inquired if this was a frequent occurrence and was advised that officers
frequently filled in for supervisors who were off.
The motion carried unanimously.
4. Overtime (Article 17)
Commissioner Waters moved to adopt the Union's proposal regarding overtime.
Retain the current policy and pay overtime for hours worked that exceed the daily work
shift). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Beaver.
Commissioner Bomo asked if the current policy was in compliance with the Fair Labor
Standards Act and was advised that the City's policy was more generous than FLSA
standards required. Following further discussion, the motion failed on a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Beaver then moved to adopt the City's position regarding overtime.
Pay overtime for hours worked after 80 hours in a two-week work period). The motion
was second by Commission Borno and carried unanimously.
5. A. Promotions (Article 29)
Commissioner Beaver moved to adopt the City's position regarding promotions.
Allow the City to promote the most qualified employee). The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Borno.
It was explained that this change would provide the Chief of Police the flexibility to establish
the criteria and procedures prior to the promotion cycle, depending upon the availability of
officers. Mr. Foster explained that the current policy required that five officers be available
before the test for promotion could be given and the Police Chief must then select the
individual for promotion from the top three without taking performance into consideration.
Director Thompson explained that longevity would always be a consideration in promotions.
Following further discussion,the motion carried on a 3-2 vote with Commissioners Borno
and Waters voting Nay.
Page Nine
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
B. Pay Increase for promotion to Sergeant
Commissioner Borno moved to accept the City's position regarding pay increase for
promotion to Sergeant (Pay an additional 12% for promotion to Sergeant). The motion
was seconded by Commissioner Parsons and carried unanimously.
6. A. Holidays —Birthday Holiday (Article 12)
Commissioner Waters moved to change the Employee's Birthday holiday to Police
Memorial Day (May 15). The motion died for lack of a second. Commissioner Beaver
then moved to adopt the City's position regarding the Birthday Holiday (Change
employee's Birthday from Holiday to eight hours of Personal Leave). The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Parsons and carried on a vote of 4-1 with Commissioner
Waters voting nay.
B. Holidays (Article 12)
Commissioner Parsons moved to adopt the City's position regarding holiday hours.(All
full-time employees to be treated equally and provided with 80 hours ofholiday hours offwith
pay). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Borno. In response to a question from
Commissioner Borno, Dir. Thompson explained that this action would reduce the holiday
hours for police officers from 100 hours to 80 hours. Following brief discussion, on roll-call
vote the motion failed on a vote of 2 — 3 with Commissoner Parsons and Mayor
Meserve voting aye and Commissioners Beaver, Borno, and Waters voting nay.
Commissioner Borno then moved to adopt the Union proposal regarding holiday hours.
Provide 80 hours of holiday hours off with pay if employee works an 8-hour day and 100
hours of holiday hours off with pay if employee works a 10-hour day). The motion carried
on a vote of 3 - 2 with Commissioners Beaver, Borno, and Waters voting aye and
Commissioner Parsons and Mayor Meserve voting nay.
7. Uniforms (Article 23)
Commissioner Waters moved to adopt the Union's proposal regarding uniforms(Add
dress hat with insignia,two long sleeve shirts and a snap-on tie to the list of required uniform
items). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Borno.
Brief discussion ensued regarding the requested items and Dir. Thompson explained that he
would prefer to dispense with the list and to provide all officers with the uniform and
equipment items needed to perform the job. While it would be his intent to approve requests
for the additional items,he doubted that every officer would use,or request a Class A,dress
uniform.Following brief discussion,the motion failed on a vote of 4-1 with Commissioner
Page Ten
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
Waters voting nay. Commissioner Beaver then moved to adopt the City's position
regarding uniforms (Delete mandated items and allow the City to provide the uniform as
needed). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Parsons and carried unanimously.
Commissioner Borno requested that officers' requests for the Class A uniform items be
handled on an individual basis.
8. Bulletin Boards (Article 22)
Commissioner Borno moved to adopt the City's position regarding bulletin boards(City
to have the right to remove inappropriate material). The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Parsons.
Discussion ensued and it was pointed out that it would not always be possible to remove
inappropriate material in a timely manner if the FOP representative was on leave or
unavailable for any other reason. However, it was felt that the Union may have concerns
about Union material being removed. Officer Raynor said that the bulletin board was his
means of communicating with members and it was important for him to be able to track when
items were posted and removed from the board.
Following further discussion, Commissioner Borno moved to amend the motion to
require that any material removed from the bulletin board by the Police Chief be
delivered to the FOP representative. The motion and amended motion carried on a
vote of 3 —2 with Commissioners Borno and Waters voting nay.
9. FOP Time Pool (Article 6)
Commissioner Parsons moved for adoption of the City's position regarding FOP pool
time. (Delete FOP pool time provisions). The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Borno.
Discussion ensued and it was pointed out that this provision had been included in the contract
for many years but it had not been used in a long time and that it would require manual
record-keeping to track the hours. Officer Raynor, however, pointed out that the pool time
allowed him to attend Union meetings and seminars and to keep up with FOP education and
training without depleting his personal leave time, and indicated that the Union would be
willing to track the hours in the pool.
Following further discussion, the motion failed on a vote of 1-4 with Commissioner
Parsons voting yea, and the Mayor and Commissioners Beaver, Borno, and Waters
voting nay.
Page Eleven
Minutes—Impasse Hearing
November 3, 2003
Commissioner Beaver then moved to accept the Union's proposal regarding FOP time
pool(Retain the current provisions). The motion was seconded by Commissioner Waters
and carried on a 4-1 vote with Commissioner Parsons voting nay.
10. Effective Date (Article 33)
The Mayor recommended that the contract become effective tonight. Commissioner Waters
moved that the wage part of the contract be retroactive to October 1 and all other parts
of the contract become effective November 10. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Beaver. Following brief discussion, the motion carried unanimously.
In further discussion Commissioner Waters suggested that the FOP contract be compared with
Neptune Beach's contract. He said he was concerned with the turnover and thought this should be
discussed in the City Commission's next strategic planning session. Officer Raynor referenced a
committee that was formed to review employee benefits and requested that the FOP be advised of
such activities in the future.
Commissioner Waters also inquired why the handouts that were provided this evening could not have
been made available to Commissioners before the meeting so they would have been able to compare
the Union and City's proposals. Mr. Foster advised that when an impasse is declared, Florida law
prohibited the distribution of such material and said that Commissioners must make their decisions
based on the evidence presented by both sides at the impasse hearing.
The Mayor declared the impasse resolved and adjourned t :i ,-eting 7:55 p.m.
14 '‘.JAM\
Jr '. eserve
Ma or 'r: iding Officer
ATTEST:
Maureen King, C C
City Clerk
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE
FLORIDA STATE LODGE
AND
THE CITY!, OF ATLANTIC BEACH FLORIDA
October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Article No. Title Page Number
AGREEMENT 1
1 . . . . RECOGNITION 2
2 . . . . PAYROLL DEDUCTION AND DUES 3
3 NO STRIKE PROVISION 4
4 . . . . EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES 5
5 . . . . MANAGEMENT RIGHTS 6
6 . . . . SPECIAL MEETINGS/UNION TIME POOL 8
7 PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES AND SENIORITY 10
8 . . . . RULES AND REGULATIONS 12
9 DISCHARGE AND DISCIPLINE 13
10 . . . . GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 17
11 . . . . ARBITRATION PROCEDURE 20
12 . . . . HOLIDAYS 22
13 . . . . PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS 24
14 LEAVES OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY 26
15 . . . . MILITARY LEAVE 27
16 . . . . BEREAVEMENT LEAVE 28
17 . . . . HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME 29
18 . . . . INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY 31
19 . . . . TUITION AIDE 33
20 . . . . INSURANCE 35
21 . . . . SAFETY AND HEALTH 36
22 . . . . BULLETIN BOARDS 37
23 . . . . UNIFORMS 38
24 . . . . MILEAGE 41
25 . . . . LEGAL SERVICES 42 •
26 . . . . WAGES 43
27 . . . . ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING 46
28 . . . . ANTI-DISCRIMINATION 49
29 . . . . PROMOTIONAL PROCESS 50
30 AMENDMENTS • k: 52
31 SAVINGS CLAUSE 53
32 . . . . SEVERABILITY 54
33 . . . . ENTIRE AGREEMENT 55
34 . . . . DURATION OF AGREEMENT • 56
Atch A PAY AGREEMENT 57 •
AGREEMENT
This Agreement is entered into this 11th day of November,
2002 between the City of Atlantic Beach, hereinafter referred
to as the Public Employer, or City, and the Fraternal Order
of Police, Florida State Lodge, hereinafter referred to as
the FOP, Union, Employee Organization, or Association. It is
the intent and purpose of this Agreement to assure sound and
mutually beneficial working relationships between the parties
hereto, to provide an orderly and peaceful means of resolving
misunderstandings or differences which may arise and to set
forth basic and full agreement between the parties concerning .
wages, hours and other conditions of employment enumerated
herein. There are and shall be no individual arrangements or
agreements covering any part or all of this Agreement
contrary to the terms provided herein. It is mutually
understood and declared to be the public;
F)policy of the Public
Employer and the FOP to promote harmonious and cooperative
relationships between the Public Employer and the FOP and to.
protect the public by assuring, at all times, the orderly and
uninterrupted operations and functions or government.
Whenever a male pronoun is used in this Agreement it shall be
construed to include reference to both sexes .
1
ARTICLE 1
RECOGNITION
1 . 1 Pursuant to and in accordance with all applicable provisions
of Part II of Chapter 447, Florida Statutes, the Public
Employer recognizes the FOP as the exclusive collective
bargaining representative for those employees in the unit
certified by PERC in the Atlantic Beach Police Department for
the purpose of bargaining collectively in the determination
of the wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment of.
those public employees within the bargaining unit.
1 . 2 It is further understood and agreed that the State FOP Staff
Representative of record (who is the certified bargaining
agent as per F.S. 447 . 301 (2) will be the official spokesman.
In matters other than collective bargaining (i. e. , the
resolution of grievances, etc. ) or in ' the absence of. the
State Representative, the Chairman of the Atlantic Beach FOP
Labor Unit (also known as local steward) or the alternate of
the Atlantic Beach FOP Labor Unit, will be the official
spokesman for the FOP in any matter between the FOP and the
Public Employer, only, however, on the matters which the FOP
has authority regarding its membership. The Chairman of the
Atlantic Beach Labor Unit shall designate in writing the name
of the alternate.
1. 3 ' The FOP agrees to provide the City with the names of the
officers for the FOP and will specify the name of the
alternate spokesman. The FOP will also notify the City of
any changes in FOP negotiations team as soon as possible.
2
ARTICLE 2
PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS AND DUES
2 . 1 Upon receipt of a written authorization from the employee
covered by this Agreement, the Public Employer will deduct
from the employee' s pay the amount owed to the Union 'by such
employee for dues. It is understood that this provision will
provide for deductions equal to the number of pay periods per
year. The Public Employer will submit to the designated
Atlantic Beach FOP representative the deducted sums within
fifteen (15) calendar days of the normal payday. Changes in
the FOP membership dues and rates will be certified to the
Public Employer in writing over the signature of the
President of the FOP Bargaining Unit and shall be done at
least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the effective
date of such change. The Public employer' s remittance will
be deemed correct if the FOP does not give written notice to
the Public Employer within seven (7) calendar days after
remittance is received of its belief and reasons stated
therefore that the remittance is incorrect .
2 .2 The FOP will indemnify, defend and hold the Public Employer
harmless against any claim made, and against any suit
instituted, against the Public Employer as the result of any
check-off of FOP dues .
2 . 3 An employee may revoke his authorization for deduction of
dues provided the employee gives thirty (30) calendar days
written notice to the - Public Employer and the FOP. Upon
receipt of such notification, the Public Employer shall
terminate dues on the pay date immediately following the
expiration of the thirty (30) calendar days notice period.
2 . 4 No deductions+shall be made from the pay of an employee for
any payroll period in which the employee ' s net earnings for
that payroll period are less than the amount of dues to be
checked off. Net earnings shall mean net after required
deductions .
2 . 5 If there is •an amount deducted in excess of what is
authorized by this Agreement, the employee affected shall
seek recourse with the FOP and not the City, provided that
the excess amount deducted was in fact remitted to the FOP
in the form of union dues .
3
ARTICLE 3
NO STRIKE PROVISION
3 . 1 The FOP and bargaining unit members shall have no right to
instigate, promote, sponsor, engage in, or condone any work
stoppage, boycott, slow-down, strike, intentional disruption
of City operations, or to withhold services for any reason.
Management shall have the right to discharge or otherwise
discipline any or all employees who violate the provisions of
this paragraph. The only question that may be raised in any
proceeding, grievance, judicial or otherwise, contesting such
action is whether this provision was violated by the employee
to be discharged or otherwise disciplined.
4
4
ARTICLE 4
EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES
4 . 1 a. The FOP, its representatives, members or any persons
acting on their behalf agree that the following "unlawful
acts" as defined in Chapter 447, Florida 'Statutes are
prohibited; 1) Solicitation of public employees during
working hours of any employee who is involved in the
solicitation; or 2) Distributing literature during
working hours in areas where the Work of the public
employees is performed.
b. The circuit courts of the state shall have jurisdiction
to enforce the provisions of this section by injunction
and contempt proceedings if necessary. A public employee
who is convicted of a violation of any provision of this
section may be discharged or otherwise disciplined by the
Public Employer notwithstanding further provisions of
this or any other agreement .
4 . 2 The Public Employer and FOP agree that the basic intent of
this Agreement is to provide a fair day' s work in return for
a fair day' s pay and to provide conditions of employment .
suitable to maintain a competent work force. The Public
Employer and FOP affirm the joint opposition to any
discriminatory practices in connection with employment,
promotion, training or assignment; remembering that the
public interest requires full utilization of employees '
skills and ability without regard to race, color, age, creed, ,
religion, national origin, union affiliation or non-union
affiliation, handicap, sex, or marital status .
5
ARTICLE 5
MANAGEMENT RIGHTS
5 . 1 Except as expressly provided for in this Agreement, the
Public Employer retains the sole and exclusive right to
manage its operations and direct the work of the bargaining
unit employee, including the rights to decide the number and
location of work stations, the operation of motorized
equipment, the scope of service to be performed, the methods
of service, the schedule of work time; to contract and
subcontract existing and future work; to determine whether
and to what extent the work required in its operation shall
be performed by employees covered by this Agreement; to
maintain order and efficiency in its work stations and
locations; to curtail or discontinue temporarily or
permanently, in whole or in part, operation whenever in the
opinion of the Public Employer good business judgment makes
such curtailment or discontinuance advisable; to hire, lay-
off, assign, transfer, promote, demote, and determine the
qualifications of employees; to create new job
classifications and to create and amend job descriptions; to
determine the starting and quitting time and the number of
hours to be worked; to require an employee to take a physical
or mental examination, given by a health service, or a
physician or psychiatrist selected by the Public Employer; to
assign overtime work; to discipline, suspend, and/or
discharge employees for just cause; and to have complete
authority to exercise those rights and powers incidental
thereto, including the right to make unilateral change,
subject only to such regulations governing the exercise of
these rights as are expressly and specifically provided in
this Agreement.
5 .2 The above rights of the Public Employer are not all inclusive
but indicate the type of matters or rights which belong to
and are inherent to the Public Employer in its capacity as
manager of the Police Department of the City. Any of the
rights, powers, and authority the Employer had prior to
entering into this collective bargaining agreement are
retained by the Employer, except as expressly and
specifically abridged, delegated, granted or modified by this
Agreement .
5 . 3 Any and all aspects of wages, hours, and working condition,
which are not specifically covered by this Agreement, may be
initiated, instituted, continued or discontinued without
notification of or consultation with the FOP. The Public
Employer is not required to continue those voluntary aspects
6
of wages, hours, and working conditions not included in this
Agreement, but which were in effect prior to entering into
this Agreement or instituted thereafter, nor shall the
employees have any binding right to such matters .
5 . 4 It is agreed that every : incidental duty connected with
operations enumerated in job descriptions is not always
comprehensive and employees, at the discretion of the City,
may be required to perform duties not within their specific
job descriptions as long as they are related to Police
Department operations and have the approval of the Chief of
Police or his designee.
5 . 5 Whenever it is determined that civil emergency conditions
exist, including riots, civil disorder, hurricane conditions,
or similar catastrophes, the provisions of this Agreement may
be suspended by the Mayor, City Manager and/or Chief of
Police during the time of the declared' emergency provided
that wage rates and monetary fringe benefits shall not be
suspended.
5 . 6 The Public Employer ' s failure to exercise any function or
right hereby reserved to it, or its exercising any function
or right in a particular way, shall not be deemed a waiver of
this right to exercise such function or right, nor preclude
the Public Employer from exercising the same in some other
way, provided such do not conflict with the express
provisions of this Agreement.
7
ARTICLE 6
SPECIAL MEETINGS AND FOP TIME POOL
Special Meetings:
6. 1 The Public employer and the duly appointed representative (s)
of the FOP agree to meet and confer on matters of interest
upon the written request of either party.
6. 2 The written request shall state the nature of the matters to
be discussed and the reason (s) for requesting the meetings .
Discussions shall be limited to the matters set forth in the
request or other subjects mutually agreed to, but it is
understood that these special meetings shall not be used to
renegotiate this or any other Agreement or for the resolution
of grievances .
6. 3 Such special meetings shall be held within ten (10) calendar
days of the receipt of a written request if said meeting is
jointly agreed to by both parties in writing. The meeting
shall take place at a time and place mutually agreeable to by
the parties . The FOP shall have the right at these special
meetings, to make recommendations to the Public Employer to
improve department operations and resolve problems identified
by the FOP.
FOP Time Pool:
6. 4 All members of the bargaining unit may contribute one (1) or
more hours per year from personal leave hours to the FOP time
pool provided that the maximum number of hours which may be .
accumulated in the pool under this Article is 216 hours .
6. 5 This leave will be computed and placed in a bank on the 1st.
of October and the 1st of April each year.
6. 6 The Chief of Police or his designee shall have the discretion
to grant or deny use of pool time if in his opinion the use
of such time shall decrease or limit the conducting of the
department' s business . The use of FOP Time Pool time is
subject to written approval by the FOP President or his
designee and the Chief of Police or his designee. The request
of and the use of the FOP Time Pool shall be made by the FOP
President or his/her designee . The use of the FOP Time pool
shall be made in the same manner as requesting Personal Leave
as outlined in Article 13 .
8
6 . 7 FOP Time Pool hours not expended during the previous year
will be compounded onto the new bank of hours beginning
October 1st of each year, provided the maximum accumulation
of 216 hours is not exceeded.
6. 8 When negotiations are scheduled while the FOP President or
his/her designee are working, the FOP President or his/her
designee may be granted time to attend using Pool Time.
Written request for Pool Time will be made as soon as
possible but no later than 72 hours after the scheduling of
the negotiation meeting.Attendance at FOP contract
negotiations using Pool Time is with the permission of the
Chief of Police or his designee.
a•
9
ARTICLE 7
PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES and SENIORITY
7 . 1 All employees shall be classified as probationary employees
for the first twelve (12) months of continuous uninterrupted
employment, during which time such employees may be laid off,
disciplined or discharged with or without cause and without
recourse to the grievance procedure but will be afforded all
the protection as listed under F. S . S. 11.2 . The City Manager
and/or the Chief of Police has the discretion to extend the
probationary period with cause. Provisions as to seniority
shall not apply to probationary employees, rather, seniority
shall date back to the time of hire after an employee has
successfully completed his probationary period. If more than
one employee is hired on the same day, seniority shall be
determined by the day (1-31) of birth, with the employee with
the lowest numerical day of birth having' the most seniority.
The employee with the longest date of position is most
senior.
7 . 2 Seniority:
Seniority as used herein, is defined as unbroken, continuous
service with the Atlantic Beach Police Department as a full-
time, sworn law enforcement officer. Authorized paid approved '
leave shall not reduce the officer' s seniority and seniority
shall compute from the date hired as a full-time, sworn law
enforcement officer in accordance with applicable State and
Federal Laws . Any unpaid leave shall be in accordance with
applicable state and federal laws, i. e. Military Leave or
FMLA.
7 . 3 Classification Seniority:
Shall begin with the most recent service in the employee' s
classification, (e.g. Officer, Detective or Sergeant) .
Employees shall not attain seniority until the completion of
the probationary period in their classification (probation is
defined in Article 7 . 1 of this Agreement) . Seniority shall
relate to the most recent date of promotion in that
classification.
Employees that are returned to a lower grade position shall
retain their seniority as if they had been serving
continuously within the lower grade position.
10
7 . 4 Seniority shall benefit each classification as follows :
a. Layoffs .Shall the need to layoff members of the
Bargaining Unit exist, the City should use the documented
performance records of the individual (s) , seniority and
the overall record before the layoff begins .
b. Position Elimination. If a sergeant' s or detective' s
position is eliminated or abolished, the sergeant or
detective will return to the position previously held, if
a vacancy exists, without losing ' seniority in the
classification to which he/she is returned. If there is
no vacancy within the previously held position, the
sergeant or detective shall be returned to the next lower
position and be given priority consideration whenever a
vacancy within the higher position previously held occurs.
7 . 5 Seniority shall be lost for the following reasons :
a. Voluntary resignation
b. Retirement
c. Termination
d. Failing to return to work from authorized leave of
absence
11
ARTICLE 8
RULES AND REGULATIONS
8 . 1 Any general order issued after the effective date of this
Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, if not in
conflict with any Article or Section in this Agreement. All
other general orders shall remain in full force and effect
and the Employer retains the right to issue other general
orders in its sole discretion as long as they comply with
State and Federal Laws .
8 .2 The City shall have the right to establish, maintain and
enforce, or rescind, amend or change, reasonable rules and
regulations and standard operational procedures as long as
they comply with State and Federal Laws,
8 .3 Any employee violating a rule or regulations or standard
operational procedure may be subject to disciplinary action,
including dismissal .
12
ARTICLE 9
DISCHARGE AND DISCIPLINE
9 . 1 The Employer has the right to discharge, suspend or otherwise
discipline employees for just cause . The Employer shall
consider, among other things, the seriousness and frequency
of offenses when determining the appropriate discipline,
which may include a warning, suspension or immediate
discharge. Employees are not entitled to a particular number
of warnings prior to the imposition of discipline, including
discharge.
9 .2 The following acts shall be grounds for discipline up to and
including discharge .
a. Falsifying statements or records;
b. Stealing;
c. Drinking or possessing alcoholic beverages while on duty,
unless authorized by the Chief of Police;
d. Possessing, using or selling a controlled substance,
including but not limited to, narcotics, marijuana, or
barbiturates, other than that prescribed by a physician of
the employee unless authorized by the Chief of Police;
e. Being under the influence of a controlled substance other
than that prescribed by a physician for the employee, or
being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage which
would also be a violation of Article 9 .2j ;
f. Recklessness or negligence while on duty;
g. Violation of the no strike provision of this Agreement;
h. Violation of a published work rule or regulation or
standard operational procedure;
i . Failure to immediately report vehicle accidents involving
damage to any City property;
j . Conduct that could bring discredit to the Employer;
k. Having committed and/or convicted for felony, driving
while under the influence of alcohol, or narcotic
substances, crime involving moral turpitude, or a
misdemeanor involving perjury or a false statement, or a
13
misdemeanor evidencing bad moral character;
1 . Leaving the working area during working hours without
authorization;
m. Sleeping while on duty;
n. Fighting, wrestling, horseplay, or any other act which
might interfere with the safe or efficient operation of
the Employer;
o. Unauthorized absence;
p. Unauthorized tardiness;
q. Repeated failure to achieve a satisfactory evaluation of
work performance;
r. Refusal to cooperate during an investigation;
s . Insubordination;
t. Conduct unbecoming a city employee; or
u. Refusal to obey the lawful commands of a superior officer,
City Manager, or their designee.
The foregoing enumeration of grounds for discipline are by
way of illustration and shall not be deemed to exclude
management' s right to discipline, or discharge, employees for
any other cause.
9 .3 Failure to discipline an employee for violation of these
rules, regulations, and/or standard operational procedures
shall not affect the right of the City to discipline the same
or other employees for the same or other violations of the
same rules, regulations, and/or standard operational
procedures .
9 .4 The City may use progressive discipline keeping in mind the
officer' s previous records and the ability to use training as
a means to correct the situation. Except for serious
violations, supervisors and department heads are encouraged to
utilize progressive discipline. Progressive discipline is an
approach in which a sequence of penalties is administered,
each one slightly more severe than the previous one. The goal
is to build a discipline program that progresses from less
severe to more severe in terms of punishment for similar or
like offenses . Steps within a progressive discipline system
14
that should be considered are:
a. Oral Counseling or Oral Warning. Does employee
understand rules, policies, etc. , and what is expected of
them? Such action does not need to be documented in
writing; however, the supervisor should maintain a record
date/time/subject) of counseling.
b. Written Warning. Places employee on notice that further
acts will result in more severe disciplinary action.
Such action should be documented in writing by use of an
official Employee Counseling Form and may, or may- not, be
placed in employee' s official personnel records .
c. Official Reprimand. Written action that is placed within
employee' s official personnel records. Such action should
be documented, in writing, by use Of official Employee
Counseling Form.
d. Suspension. Normally, the final step in the disciplinary
process prior to termination. Such action must be fully
documented and should be coordinated with the Human
Resource Manager prior to implementation.
e . Demotion.Depending on circumstances, it may be
appropriate over removal . Such action must be fully
documented and should be coordinated with the Human
Resource Manager prior to implementation.
f . Removal (same as termination) . The most severe
disciplinary action. Such action must be fully documented
and should be coordinated with the Human Resource Manager
prior to implementation.
9 .5 Florida State Statute 112 .532, (the Law Enforcement Officers'
Bill of Rights. as amended from time to time) shall apply
whenever a law enforcement officer is under investigation and
subject to interrogation by members of his/her agency for any
reason which could lead to disciplinary action, demotion or
dismissal. Florida State Statute 112 . 533 shall be_ complied
with for the receipt and processing of complaints received.
9 . 6 Employees shall be notified at the earliest practicable time
following the request by a private citizen to review the
personnel file of the employee .
9 . 7 Files maintained by the Internal Investigation Division will
be purged by applicable State and Federal Laws .
15
9 . 8 The City will comply with Section 119 . 07 of the Florida
Statutes and will not release information of members of the
Bargaining Unit unless allowed by law. It shall be the right
of any officer, at any reasonable time to inspect and request
a copy of his/her personnel records and completed internal
affairs files .
16
ARTICLE 10
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
10 . 1 In a mutual effort to provide harmonious working relations
between the parties to this Agreement, it is agreed to and
understood by both parties that there shall be a procedure
for the resolution of grievances between the parties arising
from an alleged violation of specific terms of_ the Agreement
as provided in this Article .
10 .2 For the purpose of this Agreement, a grievance is defined as
a disagreement between the Public Employer, FOP and one or
more of its employees concerning the interpretation,
application, or compliance with this Agreement, including
disagreements regarding discipline .
10 .3 Grievances may be taken up during the working time of the
grievant upon the mutual agreement between the Public
Employer and the FOP. Affected personnel of the Department
will follow the steps as numerically outlined where they are
organizationally feasible. In issues dealing with
discipline, the City and FOP agree that due to the
organizational structure of the Police Department,
subordinate supervisors are not authorized to circumvent
decisions of a higher ranking supervisor or the Chief of
Police. Therefore, a grievant may file the first step of the
grievance with the supervisor who is suspected of breaching .
this Agreement . If the grievant is grieving a discipline
issue, the grievance shall be filed with the supervisor who
directed the discipline.
10 .4 All grievances proceeding to Step II must be reduced to
writing and roust contain the following information:
a. The specific Article and Section of this Agreement alleged
to have been violated by the Public Employer;
b. A full statement of the grievance, giving a description of
the facts and dates and times of the events involved in
the alleged violation, and the specific remedy desired by
the grievant;
c. Signature of grievant and date signed; and,
d. Signature of the local FOP President or State FOP
Representative of record of the grievant, if applicable .
Failure of the grievant to comply with this section shall
17
make the grievance null and void.
10 . 5 All grievances shall be processed in accordance with the
following procedure:
Step 1 - The grievant shall orally, or in writing,
present his grievance to his immediate supervisor within
ten (10) working days of receipt of an official written
notice or of the occurrence of the action giving rise to
the grievance, provided that should the action giving
rise to the grievance occur while the employee is on
authorized paid leave of absence or is on his scheduled
day(s) off the grievant shall have ten (10) working days
from returning to duty to orally, or in writing present
his grievance . Discussions will be informal for the
purpose of settling differences in the simplest and most
effective manner. The immediate supervisor will discuss
and make an effort to resolve all legitimate grievances
with fairness and justice for both the grievant and the
Public Employer. The immediate supervisor shall orally
communicate a decision to the grievant within ten (10)
working days from the date the grievance was presented to
him.
Step 2 - If the grievance is not settled at the first
step, the grievant and/or his representative shall within
ten (10) working days of the response under step 1
present the grievance in written form (in compliance with
Article 10 .4) to the Chief of Police with a copy to the
City Manager. The Chief of Police or his designee, shall
investigate the alleged grievance and shall within ten
10) working days of receipt of the written grievance
conduct a meeting with the grievant, his representative
as appropriate) , and the FOP President if the grievant
requests 'FOP representation. The Chief of Police or his
designee shall notify the grievant of his decision no
later than ten (10) working days following the meeting.
Step 3 - If the grievance is not settled at the second
step, the grievant and/or his representative shall within
ten (10)' working days from the date of the Chief of
Police ' s decision present the written grievance to the
City Manager or his designee . The City Manager, or his
designee, shall investigate the alleged grievance and may
within ten (10) working days of receipt of the written
grievance conduct a meeting with Public Employer
representatives, the grievant and the FOP President if
the grievant requests FOP representation. The City
Manager or his designee shall notify the grievant in
18
writing of his decision not later than ten (10) working
days after the date the grievance was received by the
City Manager, or from the date of the meeting, if
conducted.
Step 4 - If a grievance, as defined in this Article, has
not been satisfactorily resolved within the Grievance
Procedure, the State FOP Staff Representative of record
may request arbitration in writing to the Office of the
City Manager no later than ten (l0)y working days after
the response is received in Step 3 of thegrievance
procedure.
10 . 6 It is the mutual desire of the Employer and the FOP that
grievances shall be adjusted as quickly as possible and to
that end the time limits set forth in this Article are to be
strictly enforced. The time limits mayi, only be extended by
mutual written agreement.
The term "work days" as used in this Article include Monday
through Friday of each workweek that the grievant and
supervisor (involved in each step) are scheduled to work. For
the purpose of calculating time limits, the day on which a
grievance, or a reply by management to a grievance, is
received, shall not be counted. Failure of management to
observe the time limits for any step in the Grievance
Procedure without a mutually agreed written extension of time
shall entitle the grievant (or the FOP in the case of Step 4)
to proceed to the next Step of the Grievance Procedure as
outlined in this Article. Failure of the FOP to observe the
time limits for any step in the Grievance Procedure without a
mutually agreed written extension of time shall terminate the
grievance.
19
ARTICLE 11
ARBITRATION PROCEDURE
11. 1 Whenever the FOP requests arbitration in accordance with the
provisions of Article 10, the parties shall within ten (10)
working days following appeal to arbitration jointly request
the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to submit a
panel of seven (7) arbitrators, each of whom shall be a
member of the National Academy or Arbitrators . Arbitrators
shall be selected from such panel by alternately striking
names from this list (the FOP shall make the first strike)
until only one name remains on the list .
11. 2 The limitations of the powers of the Arbitrator are as
follows :
a. The Arbitrator shall not have the power to add to,
subtract from, or alter the terms of this Agreement;
b. The Arbitrator shall have no power to establish wage
scales, rates for new jobs, or to change any wage;
c. The Arbitrator shall have only the power to rule on
matters arising under this Agreement and is confined
exclusively to the question(s) which is presented to him
which question(s) must be actual and existing;
d. If the subject of the grievance submitted to arbitration
concerns disciplinary measures (including discharge)
taken against one or more employees, the Arbitrator is
only empowered to pass upon whether the employee or
employees concerned actually committed, participated in,
or were«responsible for the act of misconduct. The
Arbitratbr has no authority to pass upon the nature,
extent, or severity of the disciplinary measure (s)
taken, such determination being solely a managerial
prerogative. If the Arbitrator finds that the employee
has not committed, participated in, or was not
responsible for, the act of_ misconduct for which he has
discipline, the Arbitrator has the power to make the
employee or employees whole, including ordering back pay
less compensation received from any other sources) for
time lost, and reinstatement when applicable .
11 .3 There shall be no appeal from the Arbitrator' s decision; it
shall be final and binding on the FOP and on all bargaining
unit employees and on the Public Employer, provided the
Arbitrator' s decision is not outside or beyond the scope of
20
the Arbitrator' s jurisdiction, or is not in violation of .
public policy. The authority and responsibility of the Public
Employer, as provided by Florida Law, shall not be usurped in
any matter.
11. 4 The Arbitrator will charge the cost of his services to the
losing party of each grievance. Each side will pay its own
representative and witnesses . The cost of a court reporter
and the transcription fee shall be paid by the party
requesting the court reporter and/or a transcription of the
proceedings .
21
ARTICLE 12
HOLIDAYS
12 . 1 The following are recognized as holidays under the terms of
this agreement :
New Years Day January 1"
Martin Luther King' s Birthday
3rd Monday in January
President ' s Day
3rd
Monday in February
Memorial Day Last Monday in May
Independence Day July
4th
Labor Day 1" Monday in September
Thanksgiving Day
4ch
Thursday in November
Friday after Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve December 24th
Christmas Day December 25th
Employee ' s. Birthday
Any day that the City Commission may designate
NOTES :
For union members that work shifts, Holidays shall be observed
on the actual date that they occur.
For union members that work a Monday through Friday workweek:
Whenever Christmas falls on a Saturday, Christmas shall be
observed on the preceding Friday with Christmas Eve observed
on the preceding Thursday.
Whenever Christmas falls on a Sunday, Christmas shall be
observed on a Monday with Christmas Eve observed on the
preceding Fri,day.
Whenever Christmas falls a Monday, Christmas shall be
observed on Monday with Christmas Eve observed on the
preceding Friday.
12 .2 Employees who do not work on the observed holiday shall
receive at the discretion of the Public Employee either eight
8) or ten (10) hours pay (corresponding to the employee' s
shift) at the employee ' s regular. straight time hourly rate of
pay or eight (8) or ten (10) hours of compensatory time
corresponding to the employee' s shift) , at the straight time
rate.
12 .3 Employees who work on the holiday shall receive, in addition
to their regular straight time hourly rate of pay, 1/2 of the
22
employee ' s regular hourly rate of pay, hour-for-hour for each
hour worked during the declared holiday. In addition, such
employees shall be credited with eight (8) or ten (10) hours
of compensatory time (corresponding to the employee 's shift) .
12 .4 In order to be eligible for holiday pay the employee must
have worked the last scheduled working day immediately prior
to the holiday and the first regularly scheduled working day
immediately after the observed holiday unless the employee is
on paid vacation, military leave, sick leave substantiated by
a doctor' s certificate, or other absences excused by the
Chief of Police
12 . 5 Employees who have been assigned holiday work and fail to
report for and perform such work without reasonable cause
shall not receive pay for the holiday or compensatory time.
12 . 6 Employees who are on an unpaid leave of absence or layoff on
the day on which such holiday is. observed shall not receive
pay for the holiday or compensatory time.
12 . 7 For purposes of this Article, all holidays shall commence at
12 : 01 a.m. on the holiday (as set forth in Section 12.1) and
continue for twenty-four (24) uninterrupted hours .
12 . 8 The accrual and pay-out of compensatory time under this
Section shall be governed by the provisions of Article 17 .
23
ARTICLE 13
PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS
13 . 1 The "Personal Leave Hours" concept is an advancement from the
traditional vacation and sick leave system.
a. When a Personal Leave Hour is used for illness or other
emergencies, employees are required to notify the on-duty
supervisor, or if he/she is unavailable the Communication
Center of the nature of the illness o'r emergency at least
one hour prior to the start of the employees shift.
When an employee is planning to use Personal Leave or
Compensatory Time off, he must submit his request for the
leave in writing to the Police Chief, or his designee, at
least fourteen (14) calendar days, prior to the first day
of the intended absence. The Chief of Police, or his
designee, shall respond to the request within four days,
not including Saturday, Sunday, or holidays, of receipt
of the request. Approval of the leave may be denied if
in the discretion of the Chief, or his designee, such
leave would pose an undue disruption of the department .
The employee' s supervisor may approve any leave without
14 days prior notice so long as the employee is not
absent for more than forty (40) hours . The granting or
denial of this request shall be the discretion of the
shift supervisor of the work shift that is affected.
Employees may accumulate Personal Leave hours up to the
maximum leave limit as established per Article 13 . 1e.
Thereafter, employees must utilize the Personal Leave or
they will',sautomatically receive payment for such leave in
accordancewith section 13 . 1d of this Agreement.
b. Minimum units charged against Personal Leave under
sections 13 . 1a shall be in one (1) hour increments .
c. For Personal Leave Hours used for illness, the City
always retains the right to require medical documentation
of the illness.
d. For hours permissibly accumulated under this Article, the
employee shall be automatically paid for all personal
leave hours that exceed the personal leave limit as
established by the employee. For the purpose of paying
the employee for accrued leave time, the Employer will
automatically pay the employee two times during the year
24
as follows: on the first payday in June, and on the first
payday in December. Payment for Personal Leave will be
based upon the employee' s personal leave account balance
on the pay period that immediately • precedes the
designated payment date .
e. Each employee is required to select a personal leave
limit of 120 , 240, 480 , or 960 hours that will best fit
the employee' s needs . Once established, such limit may
not be changed. Thereafter, employees must utilize their.
Personal Leave hours or the employee shall, in accordance '
with Article 13 .1 (d) , be automatically paid for all hours
accumulated that exceed the maximum leave limit as
selected by the employee. Employees who do not select a
personal leave limit will be assigned a 960 hour limit.
f. No Personal Leave Hours may accumulate to an employee on
leave without pay, or one who has been suspended without
pay for disciplinary purposes, or one who has accumulated
the maximum of 960 hours .
g. An eligible employee who resigns with at least two weeks
notice, is laid off, or whose employment has not -been
involuntarily terminated shall be paid for any unused
accruals . However, in no event shall the employee be
paid for any unused Personal Leave exceeding 960 hours .
13 . 2 In the event of the employee' s death, the balance of the
employee' s Personal Leave Fund shall be paid to the
beneficiary of the deceased employee.
13 .3 Personal Leave time shall accumulate during each pay period
and shall be credited to the employee at the end of each pay
period.
Maximum number of hours accumulated
each bi-weekly pay period (provided
Tenure maximum cap has not been reached)
Beg.
1st
through 3rd
year 4 . 93 hours
Beg.
4th
through 7`h
year 6 . 47 hours
Beg. 8th
through
11th
year 8 . 00 hours
Beg. 12th
through
15th
year 9 . 54 hours
Beg.
16th
and over 10 . 16 hours
25
ARTICLE 14
LEAVES OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY
14 . 1 The City shall conform to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
with FMLA eligible employees entitled to twelve (12) work
weeks of leave (paid personal leave and/or unpaid Leave) per
twelve (12) month period for reasons as specified in the
FMLA.
14 .2 Leaves of absence without pay may also be granted for other
reasons deemed acceptable to management other than those
covered in 14 . 1.
14 .3 All leaves, with or without pay, should be requested by the
employee in writing and should be approved in writing before
becoming effective. a•
14 .4 Requests for Military Leave shall be submitted in accordance
with Article 15 .
14 .5 Leave Without Pay (LWOP) shall become effective only after
the employee has utilized all available paid leave and
compensatory time to which they may be entitled.
14 . 6 An employee' s starting date will be adjusted for leaves of
absence without pay, unless restricted by State or Federal
law.
26
ARTICLE 15
MILITARY LEAVE
15 . 1 The City will grant employees leaves of absence for military
duties as dictated by the requirements of state and federal
laws .
15 .2 Employees requesting military leave are responsible for
notifying the Chief of Police as soon as possible of the
dates for such training period(s) .
15 .3 An official set of military orders should be submitted as
soon as possible, but in no case shall an employee be paid
for Military Leave until an official set of orders or
appropriate documentation have been received.
27
ARTICLE 16
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
16. 1 Employees covered by this agreement may be granted, upon
approval of the Chief of Police, time off with pay not to
exceed three calendar days, in the event of a 'death in the
employee's immediate family for the purpose of attending the
funeral of the deceased relative. An employee may be granted
up to four (4) hours off with pay if the employee is required
to act as a pallbearer for a deceased member of the Atlantic
Beach Police Department .
16 .2 The employee ' s immediate family shall be defined as the
employee ' s spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, brother,
sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, ,grandparents, step-
parents, step-child, step-brother, step4ister and any other .
member of kinship who may be residing under the same roof
with an employee during the time of death.
16.3 Funeral leave or bereavement leave shall be paid leave and
not charged to personal leave days .
16 .4 The employee may be required to provide the Chief of Police
with verification of death before compensation is approved.
28
ARTICLE 17
HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME
17 . 1 The bargaining unit employee ' s basic work period .shall be
based on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with a work
period of twenty-eight (28) days . The basic workweek for an
employee covered by this Agreement will consist of an average
of 40 hours per week and 160 hours per 28-day work period.
When the City deems it necessary, the basic work week may be
changed, provided the employees are given at least seven (7)
calendar days notice prior to the change.
17 .2 Whenever the Chief of Police or the City Manager permits an
employee (at the employee ' s request) to attend a training
seminar or training program which is not specifically
assigned, the employee shall have no right to receive any
compensation or compensatory time far the hours spent
traveling to or from or attending the 'zeminar or program.
However, the Chief of Police or City manager may at their
discretion compensate the employee for attending the seminar
or program and/or reimburse the employee for travel or
lodging expenses . Such decision is not subject to the
grievance or arbitration procedures of this agreement.
17.3 Except as provided in Section 17 . 4 , all hours worked in
excess of an employee ' s basic work shift shall be considered
overtime and shall be compensated at the rate of one and one-
half (1M) times the employee ' s regular hourly rate of pay.
17 .4 An employee will have the option of receiving compensatory
time off or overtime pay provided 85% or more or the overtime
budget has not been expended at the time the overtime work is
performed. However, the maximum amount of compensatory time,
which may be accrued under this agreement (including Article
12 and Article;' 17) , is one-hundred (100) hours of compensatory
time . Under this Article, compensatory time shall be accrued
at the same rate as overtime pay, i.e . one and one-half (134)
times . Once an employee accrues one-hundred (100) hours of
compensatory time, no further accrual of compensatory time
will be allowed. Thereafter, hours worked in excess of an
employee ' s regular scheduled work shift shall be considered
overtime and be compensated at the rate of one and one-half
1M) times the employee ' s regular hourly rate of pay. If an
employee accrues an excess of one-hundred (100) hours of
compensatory time because of time given for holidays or other
circumstances, the employee will decrease the excess
compensatory time within thirty days of the excess accrual on
a voluntary basis, or time off will be assigned by the Chief
of Police or his designee to decrease the compensatory time in
29
excess of one-hundred (100) hours .
17 . 5 For the purpose of taking compensatory time off, the employee
shall, in accordance with procedures for Personal Leave,
Article 13 , request to be allowed to utilize his accrued
hours . All accrued compensatory time off in excess of ten
10) hours must be taken during the fiscal year (October 1 -
September 30) in which it is earned. If not, 'the employee
shall receive a cash payment for the excess unused
compensatory time on or before November 15 of the following
fiscal year at the regular hourly rate earned by the employee .
at the time the employee receives such payment.
17 . 6 Hours worked in excess of the employee ' s scheduled work shift
due to emergency situations such as hurricanes, tornadoes,
civil disorders and other like matters, will be compensated
for at the rate of one and one-half (134) times the employee' s
regular hourly rate of pay. YI
17 . 7 When an employee is required to appear as a witness at a
deposition on a pending criminal, civil, or traffic case or
as a witness in a pending departmental disciplinary action,
where the employee is or was involved in his official police
capacity, and such appearance occurs when the employee is
scheduled to be off duty, he shall be compensated at the
overtime rate of pay for the reasonable time spent traveling
to and from the location of the deposition and for the time
spent in performing his duties as a witness, with a minimum
of three (3) hours . Provided, however, the employee must
submit to the Police Chief a copy of any notice of deposition
and must remit to the City any witness fee or fees received
in connection with the appearance.
17 . 8 In changing work schedules, management will take into
consideration the interests of the employees affected and the
needs of the department. The City will give as much advance
notice as possible. Where possible there should be a minimum
of twelve hours between the completion of the employee ' s
prior work shift and the beginning of the next work shift .
This section does not apply in overtime circumstances .
17. 9 If a training day is canceled, the effected employee shall
have the option of using compensatory time or personal leave
to cover the canceled day unless scheduled to work by the
City. If the employee has fifty (50) hours of compensatory
time or less accrued, the employee may work on that training
day on the shift he is scheduled to work for that twenty-
eight (28) day work cycle, and shall notify the effected
shift supervisor of that intention and for assignment .
30
ARTICLE 18
INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY
18 . 1 Any employee covered by this Agreement who sustains a
temporary disability as a result of accidental injury in the
course of and arising out of employment by the Public
Employer, shall, in addition to the benefits payable under
the Workers ' Compensation Law of the State of Florida, be
entitled to the following benefits :
a. When an employee is absent due to compensable injury, the
City will pay one-hundred percent (1000) of an employee 's
average daily earnings for each regularly scheduled work
day missed beginning with the first calendar day of the
authorized disability, and continuing through the seventh
calendar day of the authorized disability. However, in
no case shall these payments and `)those paid through
Workers ' Compensation exceed the employee' s normal net
salary. Any amount paid by the city to the employee
which is subsequently paid by Workers ' Compensation shall
be reimbursed by the employee to the city.
b. An employee sustaining a lost time injury under this
Article may use accumulated Personal Leave days to cover
the time off the job due to an injury until he is
compensated by Workers ' Compensation. Personal Leave
days can be used to supplement that percentage (33 1/3%)
of his pay which is not covered by Workers ' Compensation.
The request to allow the employee to do the above must be
made to the Chief of Police in writing.
18 . 2 In addition to the benefits afforded under section 18 . 1 (a) ,
an employee, subsequent to exhausting all Personal Leave
days, may beyawarded special benefits by the city if special
circumstances are found to exist - in the sole opinion of the
City Manager. But such payments shall not, when added to
Workers ' Compensation benefits, total more than the normal"
regular pay received by the employee immediately prior to
such disability, nor may such payments continue longer than
one year from the date of injury. Factors which the City
Manager may 'consider in each instance are as follows :
a. Consideration of degree of responsibility of employee/
employer.
b. Obedience to or violation of laws, statutes, or
ordinances involved in connection with the causes of such
disability.
31
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ARTICLE 19
TUITION AID
19 .1 Any full time employee who has completed the initial
probationary period, will be eligible to take courses which
are approved in advance by the Police Chief as being law
enforcement related or for career development . Upon
successful completion of the course, the city shall reimburse
the employee as follows
Reimbursable Items . An employee who successfully completes
an approved course where grades are assigned with a grade of
C" or better, or obtains a satisfactory completion
certificate when grades are not assigned will be reimbursed
10096 of the tuition, lab fees, registration fees, and costs
for books .
Non-reimbursable items . 1000 of the costs of supplies,
transportation, parking, equipment, plus all other fees not
listed in this article will be the responsibility of the
employee .
The employee must present written evidence of completion of
the course and the grade achieved to validate payment from
the employer. The employee shall supply the Chief of Police
with written notice of the course (s) to be taken, information
on the course (s) content and the cost of each course, and
receive approval prior to registration for the course (s)
which the employee is requesting reimbursement.
19 .2 An employee who does not remain with the City for a minimum
of two (2) full years after completion of a course for which
he has received education assistance shall repay the
reimbursement to the city at the following rate of 1/24th of
the total received for each month remaining on the 24 month
commitment .
19 .3 Should there be no funds available from the City Training
Fund the City will not be required to reimburse the employee
under Section 19.1. The City will advise the employee before
the employee takes a course if the City anticipates that no
funds will be available.
19 .4 In the event the employee is eligible for tuition aide from
any other source, such as , but not limited to Veteran' s
Benefits, the payments due under this article will be reduced
by the amount of benefits paid by other sources .
33
19 .5 In addition to salary incentive monies called for in Florida
State Statute 943 . 22, an employee shall receive a monthly
educational incentive from the City as follows :
Monthly
Degree Amount
Associates or documented evidence'50 . 00
of eligibility for an Associates
Degree
Bachelors 100 . 00
iy
1
34
ARTICLE 20
INSURANCE
20 . 1 The City agrees to provide employees with a group term life •
insurance policy providing for coverage equal to the annual
salary of the employees, but not to exceed $50, 000 . The City
agrees to pay the premiums for the employees ' -coverage for.
such insurance.
20 .2 The City agrees to provide group health insurance coverage
through an HMO, PPO, and/or other insurance means for all
eligible employees covered under this Agreement and agrees to
pay the premium for the "employee only" coverage.
35
ARTICLE 21
SAFETY AND HEALTH
21. 1 The Public Employer and the FOP agree that they will conform
to all laws relating to safety, health, ' sanitation and
working conditions . The Public Employer and the FOP will
cooperate in the continuing objective of elimination safety
and health hazards where they are shown to exist .
21.2 Safety practices may be improved upon from time to time by
the Public Employer and upon recommendations of the Public
Employer and the FOP. Protected devices, apparel, and
equipment when provided by the Public Employer must be used
and any failure to obey safety regulations or to use safety
devices shall be just cause for disciplinary action.
M1
36
ARTICLE 22
BULLETIN BOARDS
22 . 1 The FOP may be permitted to provide for its own use one
bulletin board not to exceed 4 ' X 3 ' in dimension, provided
the bulletin board shall be located only in the squad room.
22 .2 The FOP agrees it shall use the space on the bulletin board
provided for herein only for the following purpose: notices
of FOP meetings, notices of internal elections for FOP
offices, reports of FOP committees, policies of the FOP,
recreation and social affairs of the FOP, and notices by
public bodies . In no event shall the bulletin board be used
to post political material or controversial material. The
President and the Secretary of the FOP are the only
authorized representatives to post material on the. bulletin
board. Said representatives shall iiitial and date all
material, which is posted.
22 .3 The Chief of Police or his designee shall decide whether or
not Section 22 .2 has been violated. Should it be determined
that a violation has occurred the FOP shall immediately
remove the posted material .
22 .4 The Police Department may post training, promotional, or
transfer information on these boards . Such material shall
be removed from the boards within five (5) days of
expiration.
37
ARTICLE 23
UNIFORMS
23 . 1 The City will furnish to all sworn bargaining unit employees
who are required to wear such uniform in the performance of
their duties an initial issue of the following upon
employment:
1. Five (5) shirts 12 . Four (4) keepers
2 . Five (5) pants 13 . One (1) hand-cuff case
4 . One (1) raincoat 14 . One (1) pair of
handcuffs
4 . One (1) light weight
jacket 15 . One (1) handgun
5 . One heavy weight 16 . One (1) holster
jacket upon request
17 . Two (2) magazines
6. One (1) pair of shoes
18 . Two (2) magazine
7 . One (1) set of collar pouches
brass
19 . One (1) radio holder
8 . One (1) badge
20 . One (l) soft body
9 . One (1) name plate armor (to be threat
level II or above)
10 . One (1) gun belt and upon request
buckle
11. One approved intermediate
weapon and holder of
intermediate impact
weapon and holder
of officer choice
23 . 2 The City will replace or repair the above items as they
become torn, worn or unserviceable due to the performance of
the employe ' s official duty. Any claim for a repair or
replacement under this Section must be accompanied by a
written explanation addressed to the Chief of Police by the
employee ' s supervisor, setting forth the circumstances
necessitating the replacement or repair. The torn, worn, or
unserviceable item shall be presented to the Chief or Police
or his designee for inspection and determination as to
whether the item should be replaced or repaired. It shall be
the decision of the Chief of Police or his designee as to
38
whether the item shall be replaced or repaired.
23 .3 Any employee who damages, destroys, or loses any furnished
article of uniform due to carelessness or negligence will
replace the article (or at the satisfaction of the City
repair) the article at his own expense, or such cost of
replacement shall be deducted from the employee ' s pay.
23 .4 The employee shall wear the articles of the uniform listed in
Section 23 . 1 only for official City business .
23 . 5 Upon termination of employment for any reason, the employee
shall return to the City all articles of the uniform issued
by the City or be required to pay for such articles prior to
receiving his final pay check or' have the cost of the items
not turned in deducted from the employee ' s final pay check.
23 . 6 The City agrees to provide for the cleaning of a maximum of
forty-eight (48) uniforms sets (shirts and pants) per
employee per quarter.
23 . 7 a. The city shall provide for the Detectives covered by this
agreement a clothing allowance of six hundred and fifty
dollars ($650 . 00) per year to be paid quarterly.
b. . The first two quarters clothing allowance shall be paid
within fourteen (14) days of the employee' s initial
assignment as detective.
23 . 8 Any prescription glasses (not sun glasses) contact lenses,
false teeth or partial plates damaged, destroyed or stolen
while an officer is acting in the performance of his official
duties for the City, shall be replaced or repaired by the
City, up to a maximum cost of $300 . 00, provided the damage or
loss is not the result of the employee ' s negligence. Such
claim for repair or replacement shall be supported by written
explanation as to how the damage/loss occurred and be
accompanied by documentation of the original cost of said
item, and shall be subject to provisions pertaining to the
processing of claims as set forth by the Chief of Police.
Wrist Watches damage/destroyed shall be repaired or replaced
up to a value of $50 . 00 . The same restrictions, requirements
and procedures shall be followed as set forth in the above
paragraph.
If the loss is covered by any insurance policy owned by the
victim employee, then the City will be reimbursed for any
replacement item in the amount allowed and paid by the
insurance company. The victim employee shall assist the city
39
in obtaining restitution from any subject, suspect, or party
through all legal processes . Any reimbursement or
restitution received by the victim employee shall be
immediately paid to the City.
40
ARTICLE 24
MILEAGE ALLOWANCE
24 . 1 Employees directed by the Chief of Police or. his designee to
use their private automobiles for City business, shall be
compensated at the I.R.S . Mileage Rate.
r
41
ARTICLE 25
LEGAL SERVICES
25 . 1 The City agrees to provide at no cost to the employee, the
services of an attorney to defend the employee against any
civil actions brought against him while acting as an agent of
the City, in the line of duty and on the City' s behalf, .
unless such action is bought about by an act of the employee
due to his own- violation of Department Rules, Policies,
Procedures or Instructions, negligence, carelessness or the
employee acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or in a
manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard for human .
rights, safety, or property.
25 . 2 It is understood and agreed that all employees shall furnish
notification in writing of their intent to file suit in any
court of law, to the Public Employer, no less than ten (10)
working days before the actual filing ' date, provided the
lawsuit affects or is related in any manner with the Public
employer.
25 . 3 Any employee involved in an accident with a vehicle owned by
the Public Employer, and said accident is the result of
equipment failure or defect and the defect was such that a
reasonable and prudent person would not have noticed or
become aware of the defect, shall not be held accountable by
the Public Employer or results thereof. Any equipment
failure or defect must be reported at the time of the
accident and included in the vehicle defects section of the
report . Neglect by the employee to notify his supervisor of
any defect in the vehicle will make this provision null and
void.
42
ARTICLE 26
WAGES
26 . 1 Employees covered by this Agreement on October 1, 2002, shall
have their pay adjusted by four percent (4%) of the new
midpoint for their pay grade to be effective October 1, 2002
See Attachment "A" ) . The salary ranges for new employees.
are included within Attachment A.
Minimum Pay: In no case shall an employee' s pay be set below
the minimum established for the grade of the employee .
Detective Pay. Employees assigned by the Chief of Police as
a Detective shall receive pay at a rate of ten percent (10%)
above the employee' s regular rate of pay.
Maximum pay. An employee' s pay shall not exceed the maximum
established for their grade.
26 . 2 Except as provided herein, original appointment to the
classification of Police Officer will be made at the entrance
rate of pay.The City Manager may approve initial
compensation at a higher rate than the minimum rate : Such
decision shall not be subject to the grievance or arbitration
provisions of this Agreement . However, a new employee may
only be hired at a rate above the entrance rate of pay
established for the position if:
a. The needs of the City make such hire action necessary and
all other employees within the same classification have
their base salaries adjusted to be at least equal to that
of the newly hired employee, or;
b. The new , employee has job related training and/or
experience that clearly exceeds that of current
employees. Prior to City Manager approval of initial pay
under this provision, the City will notify the union, in
writing, of the proposed action and allow the union three
3) workdays to provide comments .
26 . 3 The City shall assume the responsibility for certain pension
contributions for bargaining unit members . Beginning with
Fiscal Year 1996/1997 (October 1, 1996) , the bargaining unit
members pension contribution rate shall be reduced from
4 . 815% to 2 . 315% of salary. Beginning with Fiscal Year
1997/1998 (October 1, 1997) , the bargaining unit members
pension contribution rate shall be reduced from 2 .315% to
1. 000% of salary.
43
26 .4 Any employee covered by this Agreement who is assigned by the
Chief of Police to work in the Investigative Division as . a
detective shall receive pay at a rate ten (10%) percent above
the employee ' s regular hourly rate of pay. Such percentage
shall not be added to the base pay but shall be in addition
to the base pay and apply to all pay, overtime, compensatory
time paid, etc. received by the officer.
26 .5 Any Employee covered by this Agreement who is temporarily
required by the Chief of Police or his designee to perform
the duties of a Sergeant or Lieutenant shall receive pay at a
rate five (5%) percent above the employee ' s regular rate of
pay, provided that no other Sergeant or Lieutenant is on duty
and that :
a. The duties and responsibilities of the higher .
classification are assumed in full for a minimum of four
4) uninterrupted hours; and
b. The assignment is not for the purpose of on-the-job
training.
If the two (2) conditions set forth are not fully satisfied,
the employee will receive the rate of pay of his regularly
assigned classification for each hour worked in the Sergeant
or Lieutenant position.
26 . 6 Promotion. Officers promoted to the rank of Sergeant shall
receive a salary increase at the time the promotion becomes
effective, to at least the minimum of their new pay range or
an amount equal to the percentage difference between the
current and new grade midpoints (not to exceed 12%) ,
whichever is greater.
a) Calculating a Promotional Increase. Since a promotional
increase(. is granted to recognize the assumption of
additional job duties and responsibilities, the size of
the increase is calculated as a function of the size of
the promotion, rather than as a percentage of current
salary. The formula used to calculate the promotional
increase is as follows :
New Midpoint - Current Midpoint = Promotion Increase Amount (%*)
Current Midpoint
Or
An increase to the minimum of the new pay grade,
whichever is greater.
44
Not to exceed 12%- unless required to bring the
employee' s salary to the minimum of the new pay grade.
b) Anniversary Date. A new anniversary date will be
established as the effective date of promotion.
c) Minimum Pay. In no case shall a promoted
employee' s salary be set below the base salary of.
the position to which they were promoted.
26. 7 Any employee covered by this Agreement who is required by the
Chief of Police or his designee to perform the duties of a
Field Training Officer (FTO) shall receive pay at a rate of
five (50) percent above the employee' s regular rate of pay
while the employee is actually performing the duties of an
FTO.
26. 8 Longevity Pay. Employees shall receive 4n additional twenty-
five dollars ($25 . 00) per month, for each five years served
with the City as follows:
Years of Service Monthly
Starting Thru Payment
0 5 0 . 00
6 10 25 . 00
11 15 50 . 00
16 20 75. 00
21 + 100 . 00
45
ARTICLE 27
ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING
27 . 1 Both the City and FOP recognize that drug and alcohol abuse
is a growing problem among our nation' s work force. The City
and the FOP also recognize the tremendous cost, both in terms
of efficiency and in human suffering caused by needless work.
place accidents . Acknowledging the necessity for action, the
following Alcohol and Drug Testing Program is hereby
initiated.
27 .2 a. All applicants may be subject to drug and alcohol
testing.
b. In the event the City has a reasonable suspicion to .
believe that an employee is under the influence of drugs
or alcohol on duty, the City may require that the
employee submit to breathalyzer .tests, blood tests,
urinalysis, and/or other appropriate testing. Should the
employee test positive to a drug test, the City will
utilize a confirmatory process before instituting action.
c. In the event the City requests that an employee, while on.
duty, submit to breath, blood, urine and/or other tests
and the employee chooses not to submit to such test or
tests, the reasonable suspicion to believe the employee
was under the influence shall be justification for
discipline, including discharge .
d. If the employee submits to the tests and the results
indicate alcohol or drug use (other than as indicated in
Section h) , the employee shall be discharged or suspended
without pay at the discretion of the City. After thirty
30) days have passed, an employee suspended for alcohol
use desir.ng reinstatement shall, upon written request be
given the opportunity to submit to further blood or urine
drug/alcohol screening tests, at the employee ' s expense.
If such tests indicate the absence of alcohol or a
controlled substance, the employee may be reinstated at
the discretion of the City. In the event forty (40) days
have passed and the City has not received the written
request signed by the employee, to take the alcohol or
substance abuse test, or the employee has failed to take
such tests at a time and location designated by the City,
the employee shall be discharged. An employee who is
reinstated under this Section shall be subject to random
testing during a two (2) year period following the
initial test. Should such employee test positive during
this two year period he shall be discharged.
46
e. An employee may be granted a one time leave of absence
without pay, not to exceed sixty (60) days, to under go
treatment for alcohol or substance abuse pursuant to an
approved treatment program. No employee benefits shall
accrue during this period. The request must be
voluntarily made in writing prior to the institution of
disciplinary measures for alcohol or substance abuse.
f. The City has the right to search lockers, handbags, lunch
boxes, other containers, or other personal effects of
employees on duty or on City property at any time
provided the City has reasonable suspicion, to believe
that an employee possesses or is under the influence. of
drugs or alcohol. If deemed necessary by the City, the
employees themselves may be asked to submit to a search,
provided that at no time will any employee be searched by
or in the presence of a member of the opposite sex.
Further such search shall be in t1'e nature of a "pat-
down, " and shall take place in a location as not to
unnecessarily embarrass the employee. An employee ' s
refusal to cooperate with or submit to a search may be
treated as serious insubordination that warrants
immediate discipline, including discharge .
g. All employees who must use a prescription drug that
causes adverse side effects (drowsiness or impaired
reflexes or reaction time) shall inform the City that
they are taking such medication on the advice of a
physician. It is the employee ' s responsibility to inform
the City of the possible side effects of the drug on
performance and expected duration of use.
h. Except as stated in subsection "d" & "e" of this Article,
the cost , of drug and alcohol screening tests shall be
paid by tle City.
i. The City retains the right to maintain discipline or
invoke disciplinary measures in the case of conduct which
may result from or be associated with alcohol or
substance abuse.
j . Decisions of an arbitrator under this Article shall be
limited to a determination of whether or not the City had
reasonable suspicion, and whether or not the employee was
under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and not the
disciplinary measures imposed by the City.
27. 3 When drug screening is required under the provisions of this
policy, the following standards shall be used to determine
47
what levels of detected substances shall be considered as
positive:
DRUG GROUP SCREENING TEST CONFIRMATORY TEST
a. Amphetamines 300 ng/ml Amphetamine 500 ng/ml GC/MS
b. Cocaine
Metabolites 300 ng/ml Metabolite 150 ng/ml GC/MS
c. Opiate
Metabolites 300 ng/ml .Morphine 300 ng/ml GC/MS
d. Phencyclidine 25 ng/ml PCP 25 ng/ml GC/MS
e. Marijuana
Metabolites 50 ng/ml Total ng 15 ng/ml Delta
4'
9 - THC
f. Barbiturates 300 ng/ml 300 ng/ml
When alcohol screening' is required under the provisions of
this policy, the standard which shall be used to determine
what level of alcohol shall be considered as positive shall
be . 04 grams per deciliter.
48
ARTICLE 28
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
28 . 1 In accordance with applicable Federal and State Law, both the
City and Union agree that they will not discriminate on the
basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, religion,
marital status, age, handicap, or Union membership or non-.
membership. The City and FOP affirm their joint opposition
to any discriminatory practice in connection with employment,
promotion, or training; remembering that; the public interest
remains the full utilization or employees ' skill and ability
without regard to consideration or race, color, creed,
national origin, sex, religion, marital status, age,
handicap, or Union membership or non-membership.
49
ARTICLE 29
Promotional Process
29 . 1 Whenever a promotional vacancy exits in the Sergeant
classification, the City will fill the vacancy from an
eligibility list established for the purpose of filling the
particular vacancy under the following conditions :
a. The City will announce promotional examinations at least
forty five (4 5) days in advance of the written
examination. The City will notice the areas from which
the examination will cover and the sources from which the
written examination was developed. The written
examination shall be a test designed for the evaluation
of candidates for promotion to the rank of sergeant and
selected for use by the City at the discretion of the
Chief of Police.
b. The written examination will be initially provided to
those individuals with a minimum of two (2) years
experience with the City of Atlantic Beach Police
Department. If five (5) individuals pass the examination,
the five (5) will proceed to the Oral Board for an
interview. If less than five (5) eligible employees pass
the written examination, the written examination will be
offered to any applicant with a minimum of two (2) years
experience as a certified law enforcement officer, until
there is a minimum of five (5) applicants from both the
Atlantic Beach Police Department and outside agencies who
have passed the examination. If the eligible individuals
pass the examination, the individuals will proceed to the
Oral Board for the interview process . Any applicant who
passes the initial written examination will qualify for
submission to the Oral Board and will not be required to
retake the test during this testing period.
c. All individuals who pass the written examination will be
submitted to the Oral Board for consideration.
d. Individuals attaining a minimum overall score of 70% on
the written examination will be interviewed by an Oral
Board consisting of three (3) members . The members of
the Oral Board will be appointed at the discretion of the
Chief of Police. The Oral Board members may not be from
within the Atlantic Beach Police Department and must be
active law enforcement officers from local agencies. The
Oral Board will submit the names of the top .three (3)
candidates to the Chief of Police and the City Manager
for their consideration. The City shall promote any of
50
the three (3) candidates selected by the Oral Board to
the rank of sergeant .
e. The list shall remain active for a period of two (2)
years from the date of the initial test. When there are
vacancies on the list of three candidates initially
submitted by the Oral Board, the Oral Board shall
recommend additional names from the list of employees who.
passed the written examination for promotion.
f. The decision of the Oral Board must take into
consideration all legal obligations of the. City including
Veterans Preference.
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ARTICLE 30
AMENDMENTS
30 . 1 This Agreement contains the complete Agreement between .the
City and the FOP and no additions, waivers, deletions,
changes or amendments shall be made during the life of the
Agreement except by mutual consent in writing of the parties.
hereto.
i
k,
f
k
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ARTICLE 31
SAVINGS CLAUSE
31 . 1 The Public Employer retains all rights, powers, functions and
authority it had prior to the signing of this contract except
as such rights are specifically relinquished or abridged in
this contract .
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ARTICLE 32
SEVERABILITY
32 . 1 In the event any Article, Section or Portion of this
Agreement should be held invalid and unenforceable by any
court of competent jurisdiction such decision shall apply to
the specific Article, Section or Portion thereof specified in.
the court ' s decision; and upon issuance of such decision, the
Public Employer and the FOP agree to immediately negotiate a
substitute for the invalidated Article,; Section or Portion
thereof.
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ARTICLE 33
ENTIRE AGREEMENT
33 . 1 The parties acknowledge that during negotiations which
resulted in this Agreement, each had the unlimited right and
opportunity to make demands and proposals with respect to any
subject or matter not removed by law from -the area of.
collective bargaining and that the understandings and
agreements arrived at by the parties after the exercise of
that right and opportunity are set forth in this Agreement .
Therefore, the Public Employer and the FOP for the duration
of this Agreement each voluntarily and unqualifiedly waives
the right and each agrees that the other shall not be
obligated to bargaining collectively with respect to any
subject or matter not specifically referred to or covered in
this Agreement even though such subjects or matters may not
have been within the knowledge or contemplation of either or
both of the parties at the same time they , negotiated or
signed this Agreement .
33 . 2 The parties agree that this Agreement only applies to active
employees and members of the bargaining unit on the date of
approval and for the life of this Agreement, only pay is
retroactive to October 1, 2002 . All other incentives and/or
benefits which have increased or changed since the previous
collective bargaining agreement shall take effect on the date
that this Agreement is approved.
Contract approved by City Commission on the
11th day of November
2002 .
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ARTICLE 34
DURATION OF AGREEMENT
This agreement shall commence and become effective on the 1st day
of October, 2002, and shall continue in full force and effect until
midnight on the Thirtieth day of September 2003 or until a
successor agreement is ratified.
The FOP and the City agree to meet and discuss implementation of
the remaining issues as pertains to the Palmer and Cay
Classification and Pay Study, i .e. merit pay and evaluation
reports, upon receipt of a written request.
If either party desires to negotiate a successor agreement, it may
do so by giving the other party written notice to that effect no
later than June 1st,
2003 .
FOR THE CITY OR E FOP
1/ -loz
17(7-z_ -
Jim . anson Date Gary Evans Date
Ci Manager Staff Repre- entative
1 /rO 2— Vv ‘z_,-. 1,7Z__—.//4?/&Ast
George Aster a e Victor Raynor Date
Chief Negotiator FOP President
56
Police Pay Agreement
Attachment A
PAY SCALE
Salary Range Hourly Range
Title Grd Min Mid Max Min Mid Max
Police Officer 19 30, 806 38, 508 46,209 14 .81 18 .51 22.22
Detective* 19 33, 887 42,359 50, 830 16.29 20.36 24 . 44
Sergeant 21 35,258 47, 010 58, 763 16.95 22. 60 28.25
Includes +10% Detective Pay.
57