Published: July 04, 2008 02:13 pm            

Jeffersonville: Answer filed in city, FOP suit

Issue was initially raised about number of officers promoted to higher ranks

An answer has been filed in a suit between the city of Jeffersonville and its police union.

In the initial legal filing, made by the city in May, officials essentially asked the courts to decide how to handle a union contract that was breached when too many police officers were promoted to higher-paid ranks.

In his answer, Louisville-based attorney Jason Vaughn — representing Jeffersonville’s Fraternal Order of Police — agreed with most of the points made in the city’s petition for declaratory judgment.

At issue is the number of majors and lieutenants on the Jeffersonville Police Department. The contract that the city and the police union entered into called for the department to have six majors and five lieutenants. However, promotions made under the administration of former Mayor Rob Waiz left the force with seven majors and six lieutenants in the ranks, one too many in each category.

The extra positions create additional salaries and perks for which the Jeffersonville City Council has to pay, said Councilman Nathan Samuel, who acts as liaison with the Jeffersonville Police Department.

“We didn’t budget for the additional majors or lieutenants,” Samuel said.

“The other part is that it violates the contract,” said Council President Ed Zastawny. “And we want to know how to resolve that.”

Zastawny and mayor Tom Galligan signed the initial filing.

In the answer, Vaughn did not contest claims that too many officers had been promoted beyond what the contract specifies. The only parts of the city’s filing that were contested were those in which the defense did not have sufficient knowledge — matters of city budgets and specific votes. Further, Vaughn requested that the court define what rights every major and lieutenant on the force has, in regards to pay scale and rank.

A message was left for Vaughn at his office Thursday, but it was not returned by press time. Attempts also were made to reach representatives with the Fraternal Order of Police — one representative was on sick leave, the other works third shift.

Waiz also did not return a phone request for comment.

Samuel points out that the lawsuit isn’t meant to be adversarial, it’s merely to resolve the issue.

“When you’ve promoted somebody, you don’t want to demote them,” he said.

It’s unclear whether a hearing has been set on the matter. The case is in Clark County Superior Court No. 1.

        

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