An arbitration decision in a contract dispute between the Town of Vernon and the Vernon Police Association is now in court after the union won nearly everything it wanted in an unusual and complicated case of statutory interpretation.

At issue is a waiver signed by both the town and the police union, waiving Connecticut’s statutory requirements for arbitration. The town and union had reached an impasse concerning pay increases and healthcare premiums and went to an arbitration panel to reach a deal. Under state statute, parties can waive any or all statutory requirements, timelines and guidelines that dictate how an arbitration panel is to handle such disputes.

And while the arbitration panel did waive timeline requirements, they adhered to the statutory language when it came to last best offers (LBO) presented by both the town and the union – essentially, that each issue in the contract must receive a last best offer from each party and the arbitration panel accepts one LBO or the other. 

However, since the statutory language had been waived, the Town submitted LBOs regarding only salary increases and healthcare premiums and did not submit LBOs for the remaining issues for which it sought to maintain current contract language.

The union, on the other hand, submitted LBOs for every contractual issue, ranging from vacation and sick leave accrual to pension eligibility and administrative leave pay when an officer discharges their firearm.

Because there was no LBO submitted by the town on these numerous issues, the arbitration panel said it was compelled by statute to award the issue to the party that did submit an LBO, namely, the union. The effect was to roll back contractual language, some of which has been in place since 2012.

It’s not that the town didn’t make arguments regarding these issues before the panel – they did, as documented in the panel’s decision – but since the town had not submitted formal LBOs in the format required under statute, the panel believed they were statutorily required to accept the only LBO offered, despite the waiver signed by both parties.

“There is nothing to guide or limit the parties as to the format of the final offers in this matter,” the town wrote in their Motion for Clarification. “Likewise, there is nothing to indicate that traditional Last Best Offer (LBO) arbitration on an issue-by-issue basis remains in effect.”

In their post-hearing brief, the town said the omissions were due to a “scrivener’s error.”

According to state statute regarding municipal contract arbitration, a municipal employer or union can file “a joint stipulation modifying, deferring or waiving any or all of the provisions of this section, or modifying, deferring or waiving any or all of the provisions of a previously filed stipulation, and any such stipulation shall be controlling over the provisions of this section or of any previously filed stipulation.”

According to the March 3, 2023, stipulation filed by the union and the Town or Vernon, “The Town of Vernon and the Vernon Police Association hereby stipulate to waive all the provisions of Section 7-473, including hearing and filing time requirements set forth herein.”

The arbitration panel, however, rejected the town’s argument that the statutory waiver meant the dictates of last best offers could be waived as well.

“The Town has made the case that the Waiver in effect waived all the requirements set forth in MERA (Municipal Employee Relations Act) including dictates of the last best offers,” the arbitration panel wrote in their decision. “The Panel respectfully disagrees. The Arbitration Statement, per the Statute, identifies the open issues and the exact unresolved language which the Panel must decide according to the statement of the last best offers. Deviating from the dictates of the Statute and the long-term arbitral precedent would be counter to the spirit of the Statute, the integrity of the process and the intent of the waiver as reasonably understood by the parties and the Panel.”

The panel’s decision is now being challenged in court by the Town of Vernon, which is arguing that because the panel required the town to submit its LBOs in the traditional format, it ignored the waiver, ignored their arguments and prejudiced the panel against the rights of the town.

Vernon is seeking to vacate the award and have the arbitration reheard.

The arbitrated decision, if it remains, will likely cost the town hundreds of thousands in the short term and claws back negotiated contract changes over the past decade. 

The union, however, is arguing the town has continually stripped away benefits from police officers under the administration of Mayor Daniel Champagne, a former police officer himself, and that the town has the ability to pay.

While town officials, thus far, have issued statements indicating their support of police officers, the Vernon Police Association has been much more pointed in their criticism of the town and its contract negotiations.

Union president Detective Thomas Van Tasel told the Journal Inquirer that “this administration’s claim that they support the fine men and women of this police department is blatantly false,” and criticized Mayor Champagne for receiving benefits that have since been reduced under his administration.

Vernon Town Manager Michael Purcaro says that they are simply doing their due diligence on behalf of the taxpayers taking this matter to court. 

“We petitioned the court to take a look at this legal matter as part of our due diligence on behalf of the taxpayers, to look at the legalities of this,” Purcaro said. “The work that’s being done by all our first responders is high value to the administration and to the mayor.”

Vernon typically does not have high stakes negotiations with its unions. The town has this past year negotiated three new labor contracts without the need for lawyers or mediation, and typically result in a one-time signing bonus for the employees because the town saved money on legal fees.

“I want to reassure the police officers and I want to reassure the public at large, the community we serve, we will get through this,” Purcaro said. “We value our police officers. I know the council feels the same way and supports our police officers and all our first responders in so many ways.”

Republish This Story

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.