Police officers petition Victoria for representation
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PARTIES INVOLVED
City of Victoria
Victoria Police Officers Association
Texas Municipal Police Association
CITY COUNCIL PASSES TAX RATE
On Thursday, the council approved the 64.5 cent tax rate on per $100 of property values. So a $100,000 homeowner would pay $645.
The vote passed 6-1, with Councilman David Hagan in opposition.
CITY COUNCIL iPADS
Victoria purchased 18 iPads for a total of about $9,891. The council began using them on Tuesday.
Nine iPads went to the seven council members and City Manager Charmelle Garrett and City Attorney Thomas Gwosdz. All nine sit ...
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CITY COUNCIL iPADS
Victoria purchased 18 iPads for a total of about $9,891. The council began using them on Tuesday.
Nine iPads went to the seven council members and City Manager Charmelle Garrett and City Attorney Thomas Gwosdz. All nine sit on the dais during council meetings, said O.C. Garza,communications director. The 3G iPads cost about $700 each and council members may use them outside the chamber.
Nine would stay in the council chamber for municipal court and commission meetings, Garza said. The iPads cost $399 each.
To replace the nine computers, Victoria would have bought them for $1,100 each, or $9,900 total. The council also would have needed to retrofit the dais for the new screens. City will save on paper that it uses to print the packets for meetings.
Victoria Police Department officers have signed a petition asking that their association be recognized as a bargaining agent.
Officers and the department's civilian employees make up the Victoria Police Officers Association. Many of the association's members are also affiliated with the Texas Municipal Police Association.
Out of the department's 116 officers, 104 signed the petition, said City Manager Charmelle Garrett.
The Victoria City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to approve a resolution that would recognize the local association as the officers' bargaining agent, said Mayor Will Armstrong.
If the council votes the resolution down, the matter will go before voters in a city council election in May, said City Attorney Thomas Gwosdz. If the voters reject the measure, another petition couldn't be presented for two years.
The Victoria Police Officers Association wants a "meet and confer" relationship with the city, said officer Jonathan Allen, the association's president. Gwosdz said such an agreement was the lightweight version of two other possible choices, collective bargaining and civil services agreements.
Cities that have a meet and confer relationship with officers generally adopt a contract that covers wages and hours, Gwosdz said. The contract could even cover equipment, staffing levels and the disciplinary process.
However, state law doesn't require cities to come to any agreement with bargaining agents under meet and confer agreements, Gwosdz said. The law only requires that cities meet and discuss with the bargaining agent.
Under meet and confer agreements, all officers must be represented by the bargaining agent - none can opt out - in this case the Victoria Police Officers Association, Gwosdz said. Taxpayers would pay for added administrative costs, Garrett said.
Four out of seven council members said they would vote against the measure.
Council members Denise Rangel and Gabriel Soliz said they needed more information before they made their decision. Councilman David Hagan said he would support the resolution.
Allen said his association would bring its case to the voters if the council rejects the resolution.
He noted that officers are part of the community and that he hoped Victoria residents would back the petition.
Mayor Will Armstrong said there are some inequities in the police department, but that the city's new police chief, Jeff Craig, was working on solving them.
Councilman Joe Truman said he wanted six months for the city management and the new police chief to address the officers' concerns. He said recognizing a bargaining agent would lead to tax increases.
"They (voters) will not support a tax increase, which this will require," Truman said.
Councilman Tom Halepaska said a bargaining agent would increase the city's expenses, but he wasn't sure that money would go toward officers.
Hagan said a bargaining agent allows council to hear directly from officers their concerns. He said there was nothing binding under meet and confer agreements.
Allen said a meet and confer agreement would let officers feel they have a voice.
Allen said the local officers association wouldn't immediately seek pay raises. Yet he noted that pay raises have been talked about for years in the association.
"It may be brought up in the future," said Allen about requests for pay raises.
Allen said officers wouldn't be required to join the local association under a meet and confer agreement.
Members of the Victoria Police Officers Association pay $24 in annual dues, Allen said. Voluntary dues to the Texas Municipal Police Association varies, but is about $28 per month on average.
The dues wouldn't change if a meet and confer agreement passed, Allen said.
The Texas Municipal Police Association counseled Allen as he put together the petition, said Mark Jameson, a board member with the Texas association. An attorney in Austin looked over the petition before it was presented.
Jameson said his association wasn't a union, partly because it didn't advocate strikes, walkouts or picketing.
"I guess to some degree we are a union because we have a common goal and are united," Jameson said.
"But we don't conduct ourselves like a lot of people think of unions."
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So... Who is running this dog and pony show?
September 2, 2011 at 6:51 p.m.HookEm, under a meet and confer contract the licensed officers have signed the petition allowing the Victoria Police Officers Association to represent them. They do not have to be members of the association to be represented by them under this type of contract.
There appears to have been quite a spin put on this story. I would love to know how a tax increase will be caused by allowing officers to express their opinions on subjects that affect their lives and jobs. After doing research on this topic, there is nothing binding with a meet and confer contract. It is simply an avenue for the officers to express their opinions. From what I understand by doing research, the city can simply tell them thanks for your opinion, but no thanks.
Mr. Cuaron, maybe you should try doing some research on this topic and print a factual story!
September 2, 2011 at 6 p.m.Advocate, please clarify your report:
"Under meet and confer agreements, all officers must be represented by the bargaining agent - none can opt out", in this case the Victoria Police Officers Association, Gwosdz said."
vs
"Allen said officers wouldn't be required to join the local association under a meet and confer agreement."
Please explain these conflicting statements.
September 2, 2011 at 5:18 p.m.Thank you
This the same council that spends money at the drop of a hat for just about anything that comes along ? And NOW suddenly they are concerned about taxes ?
Hagan's support for this is most curious since he is about the only one who tries to put the brakes on the runaway spending train.
September 2, 2011 at 1:53 p.m.For those of you with similar thinking as muleman and the council, search Texas Municipal Police Association like I did. You will find other cities that they have helped and they even have a website. The cities they helped officer pay did not raise taxes. Google can be a wonderful thing for info muleman, you should try it.
September 2, 2011 at 1:39 p.m.Let the voters decide! We don't need more taxes!
September 2, 2011 at 12:26 p.m.Mr. Cuaron,
Please research this subject more thoroughly and get some factual information. When the council approved substantial pay increases for the former city manager they referred to other "comparable" cities to support the pay increase. Please look into these same cities and see what their police (and fire) departments offer in compensation, benefits and civil service involvement as compared to Victoria.
Police and Fire personnel should be one of the highest priorities, above new parks ($500,000), parking lots for private business use (over $100,000), funds to "educate the public" ($100,000) or even new IPads for council ($9,000). We need facts regarding this issue and not hype that some on council have already initiated and will encourage.
I agree with the previous post asking why these "inequities" come to the surface only months after the former chief was promoted? Victoria Advocate, please dig deeper and present the taxpayers with the facts.
September 2, 2011 at 11:06 a.m.We all know that David Hagan is against raising of taxes. Am I right? He has more than any other person, expressed that by voting the other way the good ol boys do. Yet he is for this. So is it fair to say that Hagan has done more homework than the others and found this wont raise taxes? Better pay and benefits to me equals better officers, which in turn lead to a safer city. Better quality of applicants will seek employment here as well. I am a little disturbed reading 4 out of 7 will vote against it based on a knee jerk reaction. Kudos for now to Soliz and Rangel for at least saying they want to study more on this.
September 2, 2011 at 10:29 a.m.all of you who think this is a great idea should line up at our next city council meeting and petition for a tax increase.
September 2, 2011 at 8:05 a.m.Let the issue come to the voter, as the article states.
September 2, 2011 at 7:58 a.m.We really need to get behind our officers on this thing. There are some on the the city council who don't want to listen to the voices of the workers or correct the issues. It sure seems to me that the officers just want to be heard and nothing has worked.
September 2, 2011 at 7:24 a.m.I sure do hope the city council gets behind the VPD Officers. If you read the article, the Officers want to first have a meeting to vote on weather they will be heard, the council is already saying this will cost "tax payer" money....
I didn't hear any "jockeying" from the Officers, but the elected officials are already tight on the purse strings.
It would be a shame if the council didn't vote for this "lighter" side of civil service. I guess the council doesn't want to hear about fair wages and working environment for our officers....
September 2, 2011 at 7:14 a.m."Mayor Will Armstrong said there are some inequities in the police department, but that the city's new police chief, Jeff Craig, was working on solving them"
These "inequities"...why were they not addressed while Bruce Ure was police chief? Did they only come to light after Ure's PROMOTION to assistant city manager? The good ol' boy system at work....
September 2, 2011 at 5:35 a.m.Such kneejerk reactions! There's no reason to fear unions. Anyone who works a 5-day week (or would like to) should be praising unions for it. I was in a union that worked extremely well because both sides showed respect for each other. The two sides came together every few years, worked hard to come to agreement, then went back to the common cause of maintaining a successful business. I own a business and see no problem with wanting my employees to make a decent wage, to work in safe environment, and be treated with respect. That's how I keep good employees and get their loyalty to me and my success. So what if it costs me a little more? I get it back in productivity.
September 1, 2011 at 10:27 p.m.I guess either my comment was removed or didn't go through since I was on my phone...
Is this what the executive session was about? The mayor wanted .65 tax rate based on what was discussed in executive session, yet the taxpayers would have the chance to vote on this anyway? Seems like he's trying to force the option without giving voters a chance to make the decision.
September 1, 2011 at 10:19 p.m.Lead to tax increase and giving Elected Officials won't? I rather pay more taxes to have better wages for the Police than elected officials who do not protect or serve the community.
September 1, 2011 at 9:41 p.m.