Prospect Hts. will lay off 6 officers Sunday

Prospect Heights will lay off six police officers starting Sunday, Nov. 7, Mayor Dolly Vole said Friday evening.

City officials say they reached an agreement with leaders of the local police unions to institute furloughs instead of layoffs, the statement said, but the executive board of the Metropolitan Alliance of Police refused to sign it.

“Layoffs are happening,” Vole said Friday evening. “Officers and management and myself came to an agreement, but MAP executives refused to sign it. Officers were begging MAP officers to sign this, and the union attorney would not even take their call.”

MAP officials disputed the city's version of events and said the union was considering action against the city but would not be able to do anything before Sunday.

The mayor does not know what went on between the officers and MAP officials, said Jerry Marzullo, the attorney representing MAP.

“The agreement that they wanted there was no way we could abide by that, said Marzullo. “It was unrealistic and egregious. We're certainly not going to sign anything that gives away our ability to protect our police officers.”

Marzullo would not specify what the disagreement is, but Rick Tracy, secretary of MAP, said one problem is the difference between what the city would save from six months of furloughs and laying off the officers was huge.

The furloughs would save the city less than $100,000, while the layoffs would reduce costs by $300,000, said Tracy.

“The union is exploring myriad legal options,” said Marzullo, “and will be taking action very soon.”

Tracy said an unfair labor practices complaint was one option.

Faced with severe budget shortages, in July 2009 the city instituted 30 furlough days a year for all employees, as a way of saving jobs, said Vole.

The police union filed a grievance, and an arbitrator ruled in the union's favor on Oct. 16, saying the police contract did not provide for furloughs, although layoffs were allowed.

The city council was initially prepared to vote on layoffs Oct. 25, but the union asked for a 48-hour delay to continue negotiations.

City officials issued a statement Oct. 29 saying an agreement was reached that would continue police officer furloughs through April 30, the end of the city's fiscal year, at which point a new agreement might be negotiated or layoffs instituted.

However, MAP officials told the Daily Herald that same day there was no agreement, and talks continued.

Friday's statement from Prospect Heights said the negotiating teams reached an agreement Nov. 2 to continue the furloughs. However, according to the statement, the MAP executive board requested a change in the wording, but once that was done still refused to sign the agreement.

The city's statement says the union asked that the furloughs continue through Nov. 13 to give them more time to negotiate, and then asked for a meeting on Nov. 4.

But the union did not show up at the meeting, the city contends.

“Prospect Heights had hoped to work through this issue and were very encouraged when approached by union members,” the city's statement said.

Tracy said there was a miscommunication about the Nov. 4 meeting, saying the union never got confirmation of the Thursday meeting and thought there would instead be a meeting Monday, Nov. 8.

The city's statement ended: “It is with great regret and deepest respect for our police employees, who worked so hard with management to resolve this issue.

“We find it unfortunate that the MAP executive board would not support the vote of its members.”

In the midst of the talks, Prospect Heights Police Chief Bruce Morris resigned abruptly Oct. 27, in an e-mail to City Administrator Anne Marrin.

Morris had been chief for 12 years and was one of the original officers on the force when it was formed in 1990.