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02-03-92 v MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING HELD AT ATLANTIC BEACH CITY HALL ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1992, AT 5:30 P. M. BETWEEN THE CITY COMMISSION OF ATLANTIC BEACH AND THE PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS OF JACKSONVILLE BEACH, LOCAL 2622, IAFF, AFL-CIO-CLC. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gulliford. Present in addition to the Mayor were Commissioners Edwards, Fletcher, Tucker, and Waters. Also present were City Manager Leinbach, City Attorney Jensen, Trudy Lopanik who was substituting for City Clerk Maureen King who was out of town and was excused, and the City' s Labor Attorney John F. Dickinson. Local 2622 was represented by Jimmy Hill of the Atlantic Beach Fire Department . The purpose of the meeting was to discuss subject matters at impasse between the City of Atlantic Beach and Local 2622, Professional Fire Fighters of Jacksonville Beach, IAFF. Mayor Gulliford opened the meeting by stating 17 issues were to be discussed and that each issue would be discussed and voted upon one at a time before going to the next issue. Mayor Gulliford indicated everyone had received an envelope marked "Exhibit 9" which contained documentation relative to the expenditure of money by the Commission for the purpose of representation. The Mayor stated he viewed "Exhibit 9" to be irrelevant to the matters that have been listed as a point of impasse and he indicated this will not be discussed. Union Pool Time John Dickinson, Labor Attorney for the City of Atlantic Beach, indicated union pool time would allow employees to contribute to a leave bank at the rate of a half-hour per pay period. He proposed that the City reject this offer. He indicated that someone within the city would have to keep a record of this leave bank, from year to year, as well as whether or not employees desire to contribute to the bank, which would place a burden on the city. He indicated there is no cap on how many hours can be accumulated. He stated that if someone left the city and wanted to take this time they have earned there might be a problem. Also, there could be a problem if an employee had a falling out with the union and wished to get his leave hours back. He indicated there might be a problem internally. He indicated he feels this could be an administrative burden. He requested the city reject this proposal . Jimmy Hill, Vice President, of the Atlantic Beach Division of the Jacksonville Beach Professional Fire Fighters indicated union pool time has no significant financial impact, if any, on the city. He indicated the union is not asking management to give them time but to "hold" time. He agreed this will require some secretarial involvement. He indicated this program would be beneficial and indicated if a fire fighter is severely injured he would be able to draw from this pool and this would keep him from going bankrupt. In addition, this time would allow a member to attend a funeral or function on behalf of the unit. He indicated this time can never be sold back if it is not used; it sits there forever. He Page 2 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 indicated it will never be sold or spent in cash returns. Each person will have a choice of whether or not they want to give to this pool; this is strictly voluntary, he added. After some discussion it was determined the city would like to put a cap on the number of hours that can be put into this bank and the city would like the Fire Chief to have discretion to approve leave time. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Waters, to approve Union Time Pool and to place a cap of 216 hours on the amount of hours to be placed in this pool . The city has the right to review this each year and eliminate it if it becomes an excessive administrative burden to the city. Vote Roll Call resulted in the following by Commissioners: Edwards, no; Fletcher, yes; Tucker, yes; Waters, yes; and Mayor Gulliford, yes. Motion carries by 4 to 1 vote. Longevity Pay Mr. Hill indicated he has a critical manpower shortage in the Fire Department and he indicated longevity would be an incentive for people to remain with the city. He indicated historically fire fighters leave after five years and he indicated this longevity would be a way to keep these employees. It was determined that after five years a firefighter would get $25 per month and after each additional five years he would get an additional $25 per month. Mr. Dickinson indicated no other employees in the City enjoy this longevity pay. Currently, this is at the discretion of the City Manager and is based upon outstanding performance. He indicated it has been the City' s position that merely passing time in one' s job is not enough to grant longevity and he indicated the step system the City uses basically is a means by which people are rewarded. He requested the Commission reject the union' s proposal . Motion It was moved by Commissioner Tucker, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, to accept the City' s recommendation to reject the union' s proposal. Discussion: Commissioner Fletcher indicated his feeling that while this is a very valid issue, it is "peeling off one small piece of the pie" and that he prefers to look at the contract in its entirety at a later time. Page 3 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 Vote Roll call resulted in all ayes by Commissioners: Fletcher, Tucker, Waters, Edwards, and Mayor Gulliford. Motion carried. Employee Meals and City Vehicle Use Mr. Dickinson indicated currently there is a practice of allowing members to use a truck to get food and bring it back, and Mr. Dickinson recommended maintaining this current practice. The union would like to use the city' s vehicle, go to a restaurant, eat, and come back to the fire station. The union contends that in the event they had a call they would be able to respond to the call from the restaurant. Mr. Dickinson indicated he feels a fire truck should not be parked in front of a restaurant, but should only be parked on city property. The union is also asking for discretion to use city vehicles in special assignment situations. Mr. Dickinson stated the Chief, only, should allow the use of city vehicles. Mr. Dickinson referred to Page 45 of the Employee Handbook that speaks to the use of city vehicles and he indicated it clearly states vehicles should only be used for official duties. Mr. Dickinson recommended the union' s proposal be rejected. Mr. Hill indicated the union' s proposal is verbatim out of the City' s Personnel Rules and Regulations Handbook, 1986 . He indicated fire vehicles must be driven daily and an occasional break during the day to take a lunch break would allow the vehicle to be driven. He indicated this break during the day would be a relief for the fire fighter from the long shift work they must work, and that there would be no delay in response time. The only restaurants that would be used would be located in Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach. There was a long discussion concerning Special Assignment Vehicles and whether or not members should be allowed to use these vehicles for personal business. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Waters, seconded by Commissioner Fletcher, to allow bargaining unit members to use a city vehicle for transportation to and from eating establishments in Atlantic Beach or Neptune Beach. This motion includes Article 12 . 1 of the Union' s Proposal dated May 14, 1991 in its entirety but excludes Article 12.2 . A long discussion ensued and it was stressed that should this motion pass the Commission would trust the professional integrity of the members to ensure that response time would not be affected during the time members would be at an eating establishment. Page 4 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 Substitute Motion It was moved by Commissioner Waters, seconded by Commissioner Fletcher, to add the following language to the motion: The Fire Chief will have discretion as to when Members shall leave the Fire Station for lunch. Vote on Substitute Motion Roll Call vote resulted in the following by Commissioners: Tucker, no; Waters, yes; Edwards, no; Fletcher, yes, and Mayor Gulliford. yes. Motion carried by a 3 to 2 vote. Working out of Class Mr. Hill indicated when a member works out of class in a higher classification he takes on liability and thus should be paid at a higher rate of pay. The union is asking for a 15% difference in class and this will coincide with the union' s pay proposal . Mr. Hill indicated when a Lieutenant is off somebody must assume command and as it presently occurs that man is not compensated. Mr. Dickinson indicated often times engineers perform lieutenant ' s work or fire fighters perform engineering functions on a day to day basis. Basically the shift is made up of two fire fighters, an engineer, and a lieutenant. The lieutenant is the shift commander. Under this article the assigned person would be automatically entitled to a 15% increase regardless of the amount of time he performed the out of class function. Someone in a managerial position has to keep track of this and has to be able to control when to initiate this 15% increase. Under the circumstances in the fire department, this is totally unworkable and will be a large expense and it is requested that the proposal be rejected. Commissioner Fletcher asked if there is a cost factor to which Mr. Hill indicated this would be an abstract figure. Mr. Hill asked that the union be allowed to hold parity with the police department. It was indicated in the Police Department a patrolman in charge is bumped up 5% when he works out of class after he works a minimum of four consecutive hours. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Waters, seconded by Commissioner Fletcher, that an employee who is temporarily assigned work in a higher classification shall be paid for a full shift at a differential at 5% higher than his normal rate of pay. Mayor Gulliford indicated the appropriate time to discuss this would be prior to budgeting and to establish as best as possible what the actual cost might be. Page 5 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 Vote Roll Call vote resulted in the following by Commissioners: Waters, yes; Edwards, no; Fletcher, yes; Tucker, no, and Mayor Gulliford no. Motion defeated 3 to 2. Automated Payroll Deposit Mr. Dickinson indicated the union is proposing a system where the city direct deposit payroll checks into the financial deposit of a member' s choice. There was some discussion relative to this and it was decided that 100% of a paycheck cannot be direct deposited into a financial instution but that a percentage of a paycheck can be direct deposited into a financial institution. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Tucker, seconded by Commissioner Waters, and passed, to allow the bargaining unit members to request automatic deposit of a percentage of their payroll check into the financial establishment of his/her choice. Vote Roll Call vote resulted in all ayes by Commissioners : Edwards, Fletcher, Tucker, Waters, and Mayor Gulliford. Motion carries. Court Leave A long discussion ensued regarding this and the intent of the union' s proposed language concerning this issue, which is Union' s Article 20. 1 and 20. 2 . The intent of the union was to keep language contained on Page 29, Article 11 . 6, Personnel Rules and Regulations, October 1986, in their proposed contract, but this was inadvertently left out. In order to ensure that the intent of this language is clear the following three issues were agreed upon by the union and the city: if a member has to go downtown on any litigation related to city business he will be compensated, if a member has to go downtown on jury duty he will be compensated, but if a member has personal business that involves litigation for whatever purpose he will not be compensated. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Tucker, seconded by Commissioner Edwards, to adopt the city' s proposals on court leave. Commissioner Fletcher asked for clarification of the motion. It was determined that the motion to be voted on speaks to the City' s proposed Articles 15 . 10 and 15 . 11, which do not speak to Jury Duty. Vote Roll call vote resulted in all ayes by Commissioners: Fletcher, Tucker, Waters, Edwards, and Mayor Gulliford. Motion carries. Page 6 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 Second Motion It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Tucker, to add an article to the contract that would grant the same benefit of jury duty during normal working hours, as follows: that the employee shall receive full pay equal to the normal work schedule for the hours they attend court. Any witness or jury pay received shall be returned to the City. The location of this article into the contract shall be at the discretion of the City. Motion Roll call vote on the second motion to add an article to the contract granting the same benefit of jury duty during normal working hours resulted in all ayes by Commissioners: Fletcher, Tucker, Waters, Edwards, and Mayor Gulliford. Motion carries . Personnel Reduction Mr. Dickinson indicated the language the union is requesting restricts management ' s ability to reduce the work force. The language states management may reduce the work force "only in the instance of lack of funds. " The language also states any reduction would have to be based upon seniority and nothing else. In other words, quality of work, past evaluations, ability, etc. , would not be issues that management could take into consideration. Mr. Dickinson requested that this proposal be rejected as restricting the management rights that have already been agreed to in the contract. Mr. Hill indicated that the intent of the article is to prevent personalities from entering into the reduction of work forces should a lay off situation arise, requiring reduction in the work force to be by seniority only. First in, last out would be how the work force would be reduced and Mr. Hill indicated it was not the intent of the union to restrict management ' s rights. Commissioner Fletcher felt that some consideration should be given for the qualifications of workers when a decision such as this is made. Mayor Gulliford indicated this language takes away the discretion of management. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Edwards, seconded by Commissioner Tucker, that the City Commission accept the recommendation of the Labor Attorney and reject the union' s proposal . Vote Roll call vote resulted in the following vote by Commissioners: Tucker, yes; Waters, no; Edwards, yes; Fletcher, no; Mayor Cutlrford, -no. - Motion-defeated by-3-to 2 vote: Mayor Gulliford, yes . Motion carried by 3 to 2 vote . (See minutes 2/10/92) . Page 7 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 Prevailing Rights Mr. Hill indicated this is very common language and speaks to privileges and working conditions that are enjoyed by the employees. He indicated this addresses basic details that are not addressed in the contract. Mr. Dickinson indicated the basic reason of concern is that the city is being asked to waive its right to bargain over rights, privileges, and working conditions which are not designated in the article. The city would like more specificity, and thus requests that the language be rejected. Mr. Hill indicated the language is in fact specific and that this speaks to priviledges that have always been enjoyed by members. The City Attorney was asked for his opinion and he indicated he did not think it was in the best interest of either side to leave the language as it is because it is too "open-ended. " Commissioner Waters indicated it is his understanding that this language has been incorporated into the contract so that the members can protect the few rights they have that have not been taken away. Commissioner Waters attempted to make a motion to accept this article; however, Mayor Gulliford indicated that he would like a legal opinion from the City Attorney pertaining to this language before he entertained any motions. The City Attorney indicated the language is legal but it would be in the best interest of everyone if the union would be more specific concerning the rights covered by this article. He indicated the Union' s language is too vague. Mr. Hill stated this is basic language in a lot of contracts that has never been challenged. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Waters, seconded by Commissioner Fletcher, that the city accept the unions Article 28. 1, as written. Vote Roll call vote resulted in the following by Commissioners: Waters, yes; Edwards, no; Fletcher, yes; Tucker, no; and Mayor Gulliford no. Motion defeated by 3 to 2 vote. Career Development Mr. Dickinson proposed that the city reject this proposal because there is provision in Florida State law dealing with the actual attainment of a degree, and because of the expense involved to the city. Page 8 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 Mr. Hill indicated the union' s language was taken from the contracts of other city governments. Motion and Vote It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Tucker, and passed, that members of the bargaining unit who possess a Fla. State Certification for Fire Safety Inspector will receive $100.00 per month incentive pay. In order to receive this the member must perform safety inspections. Motion carries. Second Motion It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Waters, that the City adopt the Union' s proposed Article 31 with the stipulation that members actually attain the Associate in Arts Degree, and defer funding until the upcoming budget cycle. Vote Roll call vote resulted in all ayes by Commissioners: Edwards, Fletcher, Tucker, Waters, and Mayor Gulliford. Motion carries. EMT and Paramedic Incentives Mr. Hill indicated the union is asking for a $25 increase in EMT incentive pay. Currently members receive $50 per month. Mr. Dickinson indicated the city is proposing $50 per month incentive pay for those bargaining unit employees who are certified in EMT. When it comes to the actual pay for going to school to be certified the city is paying members at their regular rate of pay. The union is proposing that this rate of pay be at the overtime rate. Mr. Dickinson indicated the city in its proposal does not cover any incentive for paramedics because the city does not require that the staff be paramedics. Mayor Gulliford asked Mr. Hill when the city first had a certified EMT to which Mr. Hill replied since in the 1970 ' s. A long discussion ensued concerning EMT ' s and the need for their expertise in medical emergency situations. Commissioner Fletcher summarized the differences in what the union is asking for and what the city is proposing: The current rate for EMT is $50 and the union is asking for $75; the union is asking for time and one-half pay when a member attends the necessary school to maintain his certification and the city is proposing to pay straight time. It was determined this certification course is a 30 hour course and it must be repeated every two years. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Waters, in reference to the first part of the union' s proposed Article 32, that the monthly incentive for EMT be increased to Page 9 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 $75 .00 per month, as long as a member keeps his certification active. Vote Roll Call vote resulted in all ayes by the following Commissioners: Fletcher, Tucker, Waters, Edwards, and Mayor Gulliford. Motion carries. Second Motion It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Waters, to give members time and one-half on off duty hours to attend EMT school . Vote on Second Motion Roll Call on second motion resulted in the following by Commissioners: Fletcher, yes; Tucker, no; Waters, no; Edwards, no; and Mayor Gulliford, no. Motion defeated by 4 to 1 vote. Amended Second Motion and Vote It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Waters, and passed, to authorize payment of regular pay to attend EMT school. Motion carries. Training and Physical Fitness Mr. Dickinson explained that the union is proposing that all training hours scheduled outside the normal working schedule of the members be compensated at the member' s overtime rate of pay. The city disagrees with pay at overtime rate. Mr. Hill explained the intent of the union is to maintain training as it has been in the past. Mr. Hill indicated if a member is asked to come in to train and he is not supposed to be at work it should be considered to be overtime. Mr. Hill indicated this article will tie into Hours of Work and Overtime in the proposed contract. Commissioner Fletcher indicated this article should be included in the Hours of Work and Overtime Article. Motion and Vote It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Waters, and passed, to approve Article 33 as proposed by the union with the amendment that the compensation will be determined as set forth in the Hours of Work and Over Time Article. This issue will be addressed at the same time Hours of Work and Over Time is addressed. Motion carries . Mayor Gulliford suggested that since it was 10: 15 p. m. and seven articles remain to be discussed, that articles 12, 15, and 17 be Page 10 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 discussed at another meeting. It was agreed upon by everyone that Article 18, Duration of Agreement, will not be discussed. Holidays Mr. Hill indicated the union is asking for what is the present policy of the city. He indicated there are changes or additions in the union' s language. Mr. Dickinson indicated the city proposed 8 hours compensatory time for a member who works on a holiday. The union is proposing and employees are presently receiving 10. 4 hours of compensatory time. There was some discussion of how this figure was arrived at. The union contended that the previous city manager installed this hourly rate for the fire department but there was no documentation from the previous city manager. It was determined that the language in the union' s contract differed from the language contained on page 51, Holidays, of the Personnel Rules and Regulations, October, 1986 in that the Personnel Rules state 8 hours compensatory time and the union' s language states 10. 4 hours. Commissioner Waters indicated that although this issue is not properly documented, if it is changed it will work to the determent of the firemen. He indicated he feels this language should remain in the contract in order to be fair. Motion It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Waters, that the city continue with the practice of this particular issue of holidays for the balance of this budget cycle and to look at it anew at budget time. Commissioner Waters indicated he feels very strongly that until this matter can be straightened out the city should not take it away because it is a perk that works in the financial favor of the union. He indicated he thinks this should be worked out with a monetary compensation in serious negotiations. Commissioner Tucker indicated she has a problem with this issue because it is not documented. She indicated she is not able to vote for something just because someone made an error at one time. Commissioner Fletcher indicated this was implemented by management and therefore the union should not be penalized for this benefit they have received over the years. The Mayor indicated that a precedence has been established and he would like to know the cost that has been involved. It was determined this practice was begun in 1987 . Vote Roll call vote resulted in the following by Commissioners: Edwards, yes; Fletcher, yes; Tucker, no; Waters, yes, and Mayor Gulliford, Page 11 Minutes of Special City Commission Meeting February 3, 1992 yes. Motion carries 4 to 1. City' s Articles 10.4 and 10.5 There was some discussion concerning the city' s proposed 10.4 and 10. 5, Holidays, and both sides were in agreement concerning these two articles. Motion and Vote It was moved by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Waters, and passed, to approve the city' s proposed 10.4 and 10.5, Holidays. Motion carries. The Public Hearing will be continued Monday, February 17, 1992, at 5: 30 p. m. , and the remaining issues will be discussed in the following order: 1 . Personal Leave, 2. On the Job Injury, 3 . Compensatory Time, 4. Salary, 5. Hours of Work and Overtime. There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 11 :00 p. m. Maureen King, Cit Clerk by Trudy Lopanik William I . Gull' for: , Jr. Mayor/Presidin. Of r cer