The Lakeport Police Officers Association, along with Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 – of which the association is a member – filed the suit against the city and the Lakeport City Council in Lake County Superior Court on June 1.
“It's straightforward and simple, they're trying to enforce the terms of their labor agreement with the city,” said Joseph Rose of the Rose Law Firm, who is representing the police and Operating Engineers.
In addition to being filed with the court, Rose said the suit also has been served on Lakeport City Attorney Steve Brookes.
Rose said the city has not yet answered the suit, which Brookes confirmed, noting a full response is due in a few weeks.
Brookes said he and Rose have begun a dialog on the case. He said he couldn't discuss many details about the case currently, but said more information would be forthcoming at a later time.
Norman Taylor, president of the Lakeport Police Officers Association, declined to discuss the case's specifics.
However, he referred back to a statement he issued last October in which he said the city had broken its promises to its police officers, and that failure to uphold the terms of the contract it signed with the association was “both unethical and illegal.”
The suit alleges that, based on the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the police officers association and the city that was approved by the Lakeport City Council on Feb. 7, 2006, the city agreed to provide an improved retirement formula of 3 percent a 50 – up from 2 percent at 50 – for officers effective Aug. 2, 2010.
The 3 percent at 50 formula would give officers the ability to retire, starting at age 50, with a benefit value of 3 percent for every year of service. For example, an officer with 30 years of service would, upon retirement, receive 90 percent of his or her salary.
In exchange for that improved retirement, the police officers association offered concessions, including forfeiture of a 1 percent wage increase in each of four years beginning in 2007, court documents state.
On July 20, 2010, the Lakeport City Council discussed the retirement plan changes in preparation for taking action in compliance with the agreement. However, the council couldn't come to a vote on the plan. The council then held a special meeting the following week at which it voted 3-2 to approve the retirement package, as Lake County News has reported.
However, when the retirement package went back to the council on Aug. 17, 2010 – for a public hearing on the ordinance necessary to amend the contract between the city and CalPERS and finalize the retirement changes – the council voted it down, justifying the move by citing the city's financial challenges.
The suit states that the union demanded the city perform on its 2006 promise to upgrade the retirement plan in separate letters dated Sept. 2, 2010, and this past April 26.
“Despite these demands, the city still refuses to perform as promised,” the suit states. “The union's informal efforts at resolving this dispute having been exhausted unsuccessfully, this petition ensued.”
Since the suit was filed last month, the Lakeport City Council has already had two closed session discussions on the matter, said Brookes, adding he expects to discuss the matter with Rose further this coming week.
Rose said the next step is for the city to answer or respond to the complaint, either admitting or denying the allegations. At that point, the court would set a settlement conference.
As to how long it could take to settle the suit, Rose estimated no less than six months.
“This is not a whodunit or anything. Most of the factual issues are not in dispute,” he said, explaining that will help shorten the time in which the case is resolved.
At the same time, the police officers association's contract with the city expired last December and, so far, there has been one initial meet and confer session to set ground rules for negotiations, as well as some correspondence, said Brookes.
He said the suit and negotiations are separate and distinct processes, with negotiations not relying on the suit to be settled before moving forward. Brookes said he expects labor negotiations to be on the council's next agenda.
Mike Minton, a representative for the Operating Engineers, said the city's police officers will continue to work under the terms of the old memorandum of understanding until a new one is reached.
“We're just in a holding pattern right now,” he said.
During discussions about the retirement package at the council's meeting on July 20, 2010, City Manager Margaret Silveira had suggested to the council that the city could implement a two-tier retirement system for its police officers, with newer hires not being eligible for the 3 percent at 50 plan.
So far, that matter hasn't been discussed in new contract negotiations, said Minton.
He said the association realizes that it will need to make further concessions, and indicated that if the city was willing to fulfill the 3 percent at 50 promise from the 2006 agreement that it would be willing to discuss different terms for new hires.
However, he said the union isn't willing to take any actual action on different retirement terms for new hires until the lawsuit is settled.
He said the city also has indicated that it has a deficit, but hasn't responded to the union's requests for more information on the deficit, including what the association's fair share of that deficit totals and city savings on current police vacancies.
Minton indicated that the association is considering another lawsuit against the city over its unilateral decision to get ride of a take home car policy for officers, which he said benefits both the city and the employees.
While that policy isn't in the officers' contract, the city has allowed it for about 20 years, making it a past practice which has to be the subject of the meet and confer process, said Minton.
“We're not opposed to discussing it and finding what other options are out there,” said Minton, adding that if the city had played by the rules the union would have been willing to offer that as a concession.
Despite the suit and the ongoing contract negotiations, Brookes said the city's police officers are continuing their work to keep the city safe.
“The rank and file continues to do a very good job for the citizens of Lakeport as evidenced by the Fourth of July,” he said. “So the working relationship is very, very good. We appreciate that from a management standpoint.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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