AUSTINTOWN Trustees contest arbitrator's ruling

The ruling, which changed an appointment to a special police unit, threatens their legal rights, officials say.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Township officials are seeking a court hearing on an arbitrator's order to put Sgt. Ronald DeAmicis in charge of the township's Problem Oriented Policing Unit.
On Tuesday, the township filed a motion with Judge Robert Lisotto of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court asking for a hearing on the order. The motion also asks the judge to vacate the order.
Judge Lisotto has not decided if a hearing will be held.
The POP unit is composed of two officers and a sergeant responsible for addressing issues or problems that are specific to some neighborhoods. Officers in the unit have a flexible schedule and are able to go undercover so they can help solve those issues.
Most of the people arrested by the unit have faced drug or prostitution charges.
Grievance made: The township trustees promoted Jeffrey Solic from patrolman to sergeant and placed him in charge of the POP unit May 11. DeAmicis, who has been with the Austintown police for 20 years and served as a sergeant for 10 years, filed a grievance stating that he should have been put in charge of the unit instead of Solic.
An arbitrator agreed with DeAmicis in a ruling issued Nov. 21.
Township Administrator Michael Dockry said he feels the arbitrator's decision takes away the township's legal right to assign and transfer police officers.
"The only way to lose it was if the arbitrator ruled contrary to the law," Dockry said.
DeAmicis was represented in the arbitration by the Austintown Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 126.
Two candidates: The POP unit didn't include a spot for a sergeant until April, when Police Chief Gordon Ellis decided to create the position. Solic and DeAmicis were the only two applicants for the job.
Dennis Haines, a Youngstown attorney who represents DeAmicis, said his client feels the FOP's collective-bargaining agreement with the township requires Ellis to select an experienced sergeant to head the unit. The arbitrator ruled that under the bargaining agreement, the township was wrong in putting Solic and DeAmicis through an evaluation process for the POP position after asking sergeants to apply for the job.
A notice posted by Ellis in the township station house on April 17 reads, "those who are eligible or wish to be considered for a lateral transfer" can apply for the position.
Dockry and Ellis developed the evaluation to determine who should serve as the POP sergeant. It included questions about management of the unit, the unit's responsibilities, and how unit members should react to situations they will face.
"Solic clearly did better in the evaluation process," Dockry said.
Arbitrator's decision: The arbitrator ruled that Ellis and Dockry should not have put DeAmicis through an evaluation process, as he had already gone through the evaluation needed to become a sergeant.
Dockry said he feels the arbitrator's decision takes away the township's right to assign officers under state law and Article 4 of the bargaining agreement. Article 4 states in part that the township has the responsibility "to hire, schedule, transfer and assign officers in accordance with law and the provisions of this Agreement."
Haines stressed, however, that he feels the arbitrator's ruling ends the dispute over who should serve as the head of the POP unit.
"The arbitrator's ruling is final and binding," he said. "Just because they didn't like the result, I doubt they'll be successful taking it into court."
hill@vindy.com