Watertown Daily Times | Watertown’s legal bills mounting for … – WatertownDailyTimes.com

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WATERTOWN The ongoing legal battle between the city and the firefighters union has cost the city at least $315,000 in attorney fees, according to documents obtained by the Watertown Daily Times.

The citys legal bills hit $315,225.60 as of Jan. 1, according to invoices and bills obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Times. Attorney bills for the first three months of this year were not provided.

However, City Councilman Cody J. Horbacz said Wednesday afternoon that he expects the bills to be much more than that.

He brought up the issue of the skyrocketing legal expenses during the first budget session on Tuesday night, expressing concern about whether enough money is appropriated in the 2017-18 budget.

In my opinion, its under-budgeted for law bills, he said Wednesday.

City Manager Sharon A. Addison appropriated $319,500 for legal expenses for the next fiscal year. That amount would pay for Terry ONeil, the Long Island attorney hired to represent the city in the nearly three-year legal dispute with the firefighters union, for fees from City Attorney Robert J. Slye and other legal expenses associated with the negotiations.

But Councilman Horbacz said City Comptroller James E. Mills told him that the city has already spent about $360,000 in legal expenses with two months remaining in the fiscal year.

That $360,000 is already about $75,000 over the amount budgeted for 2016-17, he pointed out.

He expects that amount to continue to go up. And hes worried about what happens with legal bills next year.

Daniel Daugherty, president of the Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191, said Wednesday that the citys legal fees could reach $500,000 by the time the legal battles are resolved and the contract dispute has been settled.

Right now, it wouldnt surprise me if the city spends $500,000, he said, stressing that the city and the union will be in court several times during the month of May, so the bills are expected to continue to increase.

The main sticking point remains the issue involving the minimal manning stipulation that 15 firefighters must be on duty at all times. The city contends that the stipulation causes the department to be overstaffed, while the union maintains that changing it would be unsafe.

The Times sifted through 280 pages of bills and invoices that the city provided in the FOIL request.

Out of the $319,000, only $150,000 of the legal fees pertains to labor negotiations, Ms. Addison said. The remainder is attributed to counter actions initiated by the firefighters union involving grievances, improper labor practices and other legal maneuvers, she said.

The union continues to have about 10 grievances in the works against the city alone. Two arbitration cases also have not been resolved. Mr. ONeil is paid $350 an hour. Every time theres a court date it costs the city about $3,500, Mr. Daugherty said.

Ms. Addison expects a number of those legal proceedings will be resolved in the next several weeks, so she expects that the city will be paying about $50,000 in attorney fees between now and the end of the fiscal year.

She also appropriated about $100,000 in the proposed budget for Bond, Schoeneck & King, the law firm that employs Mr. ONeil. She believes that amount will be enough to get through next year, Ms. Addison said.

The union probably has already spent $100,000 for legal fees with its attorneys, Mr. Daugherty said. The union could end up spending between $200,000 and $300,000 for attorneys before the contract is settled.

As soon it is, the union and the city will have to start negotiating for the next contract, he said.

Both sides claim they can work out their differences by going back to the negotiating table. Ms. Addison claimed the city made two requests to go back to the table, but the union didnt take up either offer.

Mr. Daugherty said the union was willing to have an off-the-record meeting with the city, as long as the arbitrator is present. But Ms. Addison said the city declined that offer because it doesnt trust that arbitrator and would be willing to sit down with the union as long as the mediator wasnt involved.

The city has been insistent that minimal manning be eliminated from the firefighters working model. Ms. Addison said that fire departments in similar sized communities have between nine and 12 firefighters on duty at all times.

This minimal manning is a job security clause to the fire union, as well as individual firefighters, she said.

While the city could end up spending $500,000, the long-term impact could be an annual savings of $1 million forever, she said. But Mr. Daugherty countered that he believes the union, in the end, will win its arbitration case involving the contract.

I think its a pretty good long shot shes risking with taxpayer money, he said.

He also reiterated that the minimal manning stance is needed. In other comparable communities of Watertowns size, firefighters have higher salaries and the departments are in close proximity of other professional departments.

The issue has both state and national implications, so the union has received assistance from outside firefighter organizations, Ms. Addison said.

The 70-member union has been without a contract since July 2014. The contract talks became increasingly bitter after eight captains were demoted to firefighters last July. The eight lost about 20 percent of their annual salaries when they were demoted, while the city made the change to save about $100,000 a year.

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Watertown Daily Times | Watertown's legal bills mounting for ... - WatertownDailyTimes.com