This is Councilor Tony Palombas view of what the other COUNCILORS and Town Manager have done. Thank you Councilor Palomba for honoring the process. PLEASE READ! My Vote on the Firefighters Contract On December 9 the Town Council voted to rejected the budget resolution presented by the Town Manager which would fund the contract between the Town and the Waterown Firefighters Union. The resolution was defeated 8 – 1. My vote was the only vote in favor of the resolution and thus in favor of the contract. Some of the reasons I voted in the affirmative are outlined in a recent Letter-to-the-Editor penned by Rob Mannix, the President of Local 1347. watertown.wickedlocal/article/20141223/NEWS/141228768/2011/OPINION However I would like to share my main reason for voting “yes”. I believe that the Town and the Union engaged in a process that was accepted as valid from the beginning by both parties. During negotiations there were concessions made, however unresolved issues forced the parties into arbitration. The subsequent ruling and award favored the Union on some points and the Town on others. From my perspective it was the responsibility of the Town Council to respect the process and vote to support the budget resolution. (It should be noted that the cost of the award was to be paid from a stabilization fund created to fund collective bargaining agreements as well as from the FY ’15 Town Council Reserve.) In my opinion not funding the contract has sent an unfortunate message to other Town employees who are members of collective bargaining units. The question they may be asking is whether the Town will in the future respect the process of union negotiation. If the the budget resolution was passed, I think this question would be answered in the affirmative. If you would like to discuss my vote, please do not hesitate to contact me by replying to this email. I would be happy to have a phone conversation or meet with you.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 23:46:36 +0000
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