By Dian Woodhouse
(With help from an un-named Gentle Friend)
Council Notes: 6.6.06
The labor negotiations for both police and fire are currently at an impasse, and that was tonight's main issue. It is unfortunate that the agenda was not publicly available prior to the meeting. Other issues than this one were discussed, of course, but I am going to concentrate on this one for now and do the rest separately. All council members were present except for Bill Glasmann, who was excused.
Bill Cook began with some background, in which he said that the "meet and confer" process provides employment associations an opportunity to negotiate with the city. There were three associations involved this year--the police department, the fire department, and UAGE, the Utah Association of Government Employees. UAGE settled, but the former two are at an impasse.
Chairman Garcia then announced that he had brought up the question if the hearing could be held in a work session instead of a council meeting, and he had been advised that there can be no hearings in work sessions. He then went on to state the usual admonitions---no clapping, no booing, etc., and please keep the tone of your presentations and comments respectful.
Mark Johnson first presented the administration's point of view, projecting overhead a document entitled "Employee Wage and Benefits Negotiations FY 2007." He said that he felt like Custer, in this "sea of blue," but that his opinion was that he had a good rapport with the individuals he had worked with from the OPD. "My view is from my rose colored glasses," he said.
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