City police contract impasse blamed on disagreements
WASHINGTON – City officials and the police department’s union have been unable to negotiate a new police contract to replace the one that expired at the end of 2014. Blame was passed around during Thursday’s Council meeting, at which time, the mayor and police union president gave different explanations for the impasse.
John Hritz, a city police officer who also serves as president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 95, said he felt Mayor Brenda Davis was monopolizing negotiations and asked other members of council to participate.
“Up until this point, it’s solely been the mayor doing the negotiations,” Hritz said. “We’ve not come to any kind of agreement whatsoever. We’ve gone backwards, if possible.”
Hritz claimed Davis was busy campaigning for the primary election in May, in which she lost to Democratic opponent Scott Putnam. He said negotiations were dead for months.
“In our opinion, we should easily be able to settle the contract,” he said. “There’s not huge sticking points. It just seems like we can’t with her.”
Davis, who oversees the police department in her role as mayor, saw it differently.
“Health care and wages are at issue, as always, and it needs to be noted that the city employees pay zero for health insurance, and they have zero deductible,” she said.
The reason for the deadlock, Davis said, is the FOP has not selected an arbitrator to further negotiations. She said the group’s law firm – Lightman, Welby & Stoltenberg, LLC – has not returned calls.
“Their attorney won’t call us back, and they won’t sit down at the table,” Davis said.
City Solicitor John Cambest said he could not comment on specific details of the contract because the two parties have not agreed.
“We don’t negotiate or talk about the contract in public unless we both agree,” he said. “Sometimes you get to the point where both parties just feel they can’t go any further, and so they want to get their points out to the public, and if both parties agree, you can do that.”
Also during the meeting, council unanimously approved a new civil service list that will be valid for two years. Council also voted to hire a new police officer.
Joseph T. Moore was hired at a salary of $40,868, and he will start June 22. Police Chief Chris Luppino said Moore is originally from the Philadelphia area and is currently serving with the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. He said Moore was traveling between North Carolina and his home in Michigan, and he and his family are excited to relocate to Pennsylvania.
“He did very well on his written test, as well as his interview – a very sociable person,” Luppino said. “I think he’s going to make a good officer.”
Davis said the top 10 individuals on the civil service list make up the most diverse pool of candidates the city has seen. She said the list includes one Hispanic individual, one African-American individual and three females.
She credited residents’ participation during town hall meetings and broader outreach efforts for the increase in diversity.