City, unions meet with mediator
City Council to be briefed in closed session Tuesday
Vallejo city and public employee union officials met behind closed doors Friday - three days after the City Council took the historic step of voting to file for bankruptcy. The mediated meeting was held at an undisclosed location.
The Vallejo Police Officer's Association and local branches of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the International Association of Fire Fighters want the city to accept an audit of city finances the unions commissioned, said a union representative.
"I'm hoping that the leadership of this city is being realistic about what their problems are," said Mat Mustard, vice president of the Vallejo Police Officers Association. "I'm hoping that when we come into this meeting, they'll be realistic about it."
Details of the union-commissioned audit have not been released, but city officials said Tuesday night that it was based on false assumptions. The unions have maintained that it shows the city has ample funds to avoid bankruptcy.
It was unclear Friday who called the latest mediation session.
Mustard said Palo Alto mediator John Kagel contacted him to reopen negotiations earlier in the week, though he did not specify the date. Kagel has mediated sessions between the two groups for past months. He met with them the last time on May 4 - two days before the City Council voted unanimously for bankruptcy. Mustard, a Vallejo Police Department detective, said the major sticking point in negotiations is whether the city has funds available to continue to support existing public employee contracts.
City Councilwoman Erin Hannigan, who is not part of the city negotiating team, said Friday it seemed logical to continue meeting with union representatives.
"If we're accepted into bankruptcy court, we might as well continue that dialogue,"
Hannigan said. "It's what we've got to do anyway. We're keeping the lines of communication open and continuing to try to resolve our financial difficulties. The bonus would be ... if we can come to a long term fiscal solution outside of bankruptcy court."
Councilwoman Joann Schivley agreed.
"The bankruptcy attorneys have said all the way through
this that the judge would prefer that the parties come to an agreement, a settlement, a resolution, on their own," Schivley said. "I hope it was made clear on Tuesday night that we need to continue to work things out."
Schivley and Councilman Tom Bartee said they believed the meeting request came from union representatives on Wednesday.
The full council will be briefed on the outcome of Friday's meeting during a closed executive session Tuesday night, prior to the regular council meeting.
