LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The updated contract between Louisville’s police union and Metro government will likely need Metro Council approval to take effect, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell’s office concluded in an opinion issued Thursday.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and the River City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 614 reached a new collective bargaining agreement Oct. 2, a deal that extends the current contract to next June and includes pay increases and other changes in benefits.
It also includes provisions from the city’s $12 million settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor, such as a $5,000 housing incentive for police officers who live in areas they patrol.
But some Metro Council members have argued that the short-term contract doesn’t have enough areas of police reform and pledged not to approve it unless changes are made. The council has not yet voted on the deal.
After some council members expressed their frustrations with the contract during a recent committee meeting, the FOP argued in a letter to Mayor Greg Fischer that the extension was already valid under state law because it had already been signed by the FOP and mayor's office.
"The approval of Metro Council is not necessary, or even appropriate, to make the new agreement effective," FOP President Ryan Nichols wrote in the letter to Fischer.
Metro Council President David James promptly asked O’Connell’s office for an opinion on the FOP’s position.
At issue is whether Kentucky law overrides a local ordinance when approving the contract and whether the agreement takes effect immediately when the mayor’s administration and the union sign off.
In the county attorney’s opinion, Civil Division Director Sarah J. Martin found that there’s nothing in state law to conclude that "the General Assembly intended to remove the Metro Council from its longstanding role in approving collective bargaining agreements.
"Accordingly, we believe a court would find that any collective bargaining agreement becomes valid and enforceable only upon approval by the Metro Council."
In fact, she wrote, the mayor’s office and the FOP "explicitly incorporated" the local ordinance into the agreement, and as such “acknowledged an obligation” to send the contract to the council to review and accept it.
The deal struck between Fischer and the FOP calls for an increase in officers’ annual starting salary, from $35,000 to $45,000, in addition to a healthcare plan with no monthly premium.
Some on the council say the deal doesn’t include enough measures to improve police accountability. They want revisions before the council approves it.
The police union, which sources say could challenge the opinion in court, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
Councilman David Yates, D-25, the chairman of the committee in which the contract currently resides, said his committee will move forward with its consideration of the contract during a special meeting from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday.
"If (the county attorney's office) would have said that our role was nonbinding that they did not need the Metro Council to approve, I think that would have been a dagger for the checks and balances of local government," Yates said. "We are the people’s representative, and without those vetting processes, without those open hearings, without that, you do lose transparency."
Yates admits the document isn't perfect, but he said it's a vast improvement when compared to the current contract. He said he feels comfortable that the proposed contract, if approved by council, would only be effective for a short-term period before a newer, better version is negotiated in 2021.
"I think this is the first time that a collective bargaining agreement has been much more than a rubber stamp," he said.
Yates will support the contract when his committee likely gives it a vote on Monday. Even though some of colleagues might not, he's happy council will seemingly get its say after the county attorney's opinion.
Yates and the Metro Council have also announced a public comment period on the contract at 1 p.m. Monday via WebEx. People wishing to speak must register by 1 p.m. Sunday at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council/metro-council-clerk.
The public comment session will be held prior to a scheduled 3 p.m. meeting of the Labor and Economic Development Committee, which is expected to take up and act on the contract.
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