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Campbell council approves AFSCME contract
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By Jeanne Starmack
CAMPBELL
City council approved a union contract with workers in the street department and water plant at its meeting Wednesday night.
Council is also expected to consider legislation on a contract with the city’s firefighters at its next regular meeting April 20.
The council and Mayor Bill VanSuch also learned before the meeting that the police contract has been approved by the FOP Lodge 42 membership. Officer John Gulu, union president, said the contract was approved two weeks ago.
Neither VanSuch nor Gulu would comment on the contract. VanSuch says he needs to read it. Gulu said he would not comment until the contract is official.
The city renegotiated the police contract after council rejected it in September. It had been signed in July by the city’s former mayor, George Krinos, and had included raises. That contract would cost the city an additional $65,000 over the next three years, VanSuch said.
The contract also would take away council’s right to determine how many officers the city needs, giving that right instead to the mayor. The lawmakers said the city’s home-rule charter gives council that right, and it could only be taken away by voters through a charter amendment. Council is fighting that contract in court.
Council approved the street and water plant workers contract with AFSCME Local 759, Ohio Council 8 unanimously, even though Council President Juanita Rich said she wanted to table it until she had more time to read it. Mayor Bill VanSuch said the contract would not cost the city more money, and other council members said they wished to vote on it. Rich agreed.
The contract covers five street department workers and 10 water department workers. It went into effect Wednesday and expires Dec. 31, 2013.
Street department workers make from $15.04 to $16.09 an hour. Water plant workers make from $14.37 to $15.37 an hour. They pay a percentage of the annual premiums for health-care benefits. For single coverage, city employees pay 14.9 percent of $5,224; for employee-spouse coverage, 7 percent of $11,416; for employee-child coverage, 9 percent of $8,971; and for family coverage, 5 percent of $16,171.
VanSuch said he is pleased negotiations are drawing to a close.
“All three unions will hopefully have contracts in place by the end of the month,” he said.
In other business, council approved an ordinance that allows city employees to donate sick leave to a co-worker who needs more time off because of a critical illness or injury.
Council also advanced to a second reading an ordinance that changes the zoning for an 8-acre parcel of property on U.S. Route 422 from C-1 to C-3, which is more conducive to strip-mall development.