Warren seeks wage, benefits concessions in police talks

By Ed Runyan

Layoff notices to eight police officers went out Wednesday.

WARREN — The city will continue to negotiate with the city’s patrol officers and ranking officers in hopes of reaching concessions on wages and benefits and avoid laying off eight more patrol officers July 19.

Meanwhile, city officials will further investigate legal issues surrounding the proposed layoff of Frank M. Tempesta, Warren’s nonunion director of operations, and police Lt. Eric Merkel sometime after that.

Gary Cicero, human resources director, said layoff notices went out Wednesday to eight patrol officers.

Layoff notices for Tempesta and Merkel could be sent as soon as Tuesday, when the Warren Civil Service Commission has its next meeting, Cicero said.

The eight layoffs, plus the layoff of four other patrol officers that occurred June 21, will be rescinded if concessions are achieved in the contracts governing the police officers, Cicero said.

Eleven employees in the city’s operations department, such as parks workers and Packard Music Hall employees, were laid off June 21 when they declined to accept wage and benefit concessions, Cicero said.

The Merkel layoff will be nullified if a concessionary agreement with the union representing sergeants, lieutenants and captains is reached, Cicero said.

The city says it needs to find $234,000 in savings from the city’s 34 patrol officers and 23 ranking police officers to balance the 2009 budget.

Agreements with firefighters and other union and nonunion workers have already been reached in recent weeks.

In all, the city has sought wage and benefit concessions and made layoffs, saving $1.6 million since March.

The city also laid off 20 police officers, 15 firefighters (including four unfilled positions) and nine other employees Jan. 1 to erase a $1.2 million deficit.

Cicero said the civil service commission must look at certain criteria at its meeting Tuesday to determine whether Merkel is the ranking officer to be laid off. Certain factors, such as seniority, will be reviewed at that time, Cicero said.

The city does not conduct annual reviews of police officers, so certain criteria spelled out in Ohio law are not applicable to Warren, and the civil service commission must review the situation, Cicero said.

Meanwhile, at a civil service commission meeting Wednesday, Tempesta’s attorney, Michael Rossi, discussed the Ohio laws that govern the layoff of employees such as Tempesta.

The city plans to eliminate a management position in the operations department, and Tempesta was chosen because the other person under consideration, Dave Mazzochi, operations superintendent, can work in both management and union positions. Tempesta cannot because Tempesta is nonunion, Cicero said.

Management employees cannot do union work, but union employees can do management work, Cicero said. Mazzochi also has more seniority than Tempesta, Cicero said.

Rossi, however, said Ohio law seems to also say that the person in the higher job classification should retain his or her job over a person in a lower classification. Rossi noted that Tempesta works in a higher classification than Mazzochi.

The civil service commission will wait for Rossi to deliver a written argument on Tempesta’s behalf this week and try to rule on the matter at Tuesday’s meeting, said Atty. James Fredericka, commission chairman.

If the commission agrees with the city administration on Tempesta’s layoff, he could be laid off late as early as July 26, Cicero said.

runyan@vindy.com