Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/12/1981CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 12, 1981 The South Burlington City Council held a special meeting on Monday, January 12, 1981 at 7:30 pm in the Conference Room, City Hall, 1175 Williston Road Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Michael Flaherty, Martin Paulsen, John Towne, William Burgess Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Wayne Parizo, Brian Searles, Ray McGee, Richard Carter, Peter Lavallee, Douglas Bouvier, Lansing Reinholz Agenda addition Reading of the minutes of January 5, 1981 was added to the agenda. Minutes of January 5, 1981 The date of this meeting had been changed from the 19th to the 12th, and Mr. Paulsen said he would like to amend his motion in the January 5 minutes regarding the continuation of the hearing to read January 12 instead of January 19. Mr. Paulsen then moved to accept the January 5, 1981 minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Town and carried unanimously. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Continue police union grievance hearing on suspension of patrolman Mr. Farrar said there had been a question as to whether or not the Chief of Police has the authority to suspend without the approval of the City Manager. The City Attorney's office was consulted about the question and returned an opinion in a letter to Mr. Farrar dated January 12, 1961. Mr. Farrar read this letter. It is the opinion of the City Attorney's office that the Chief acted in accordance with the contract in this matter, but Mr. Farrar noted that the Council could determine if such was the case, since it is the body of appeal. He said the Council had to determine if it wanted to accept the advice and make it the Council's determination. Mr. Farrar said there were two questions: 1) whether the Chief acted according to the contract, and whether he had the authority to take the actions he did on his own, and 2) whether or not the specific actions taken would warrant procedures in this manner. Mr. Towne moved that the City Council accept the City Attorney's opinion on this matter and make it a finding in this hearing. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion. Mr. Burgess said he would vote on this issue because it is an interpretation, but he said he would abstain on the second question because he was absent at the last meeting. The motion carried unanimously. The second question addressed by the Council was whether the specific actions of the patrolman were such that suspension was the appropriate remedy, or should counseling have taken place. Also, if it is determined that the suspension was warranted, is the length of it, as modified by the City Manager, appropriate? Mr. Farrar stated that the facts in the case did not seem to be contested and Mr. Reinholz agreed that was correct. He went on to say that there was nothing in Mr. Bouvier's personnel folder to indicate that disciplinary action had been taken in the 1976 incident mentioned by the Chief at the last meeting. There is only a handwritten comment in what appears to be Mr. McGee's handwriting. Mr. Bouvier said he was not suspended at that time. Mr. Carter said Mr. Bouvier was suspended, and, although there is no suspension letter in the folder now, he noted that many people had access to those files and the letter is now gone. He said the City Hall pay records of 12/26/76 show that Mr. Bouvier was not paid for the 23rd and 24th of December that year. He added that there were some officers who also remembered the suspension. The evaluation of Mr. Bouvier on 12/30/76 makes reference to that incident also, but the letter of suspension is gone from the file. Mr. Carter said he knew he had written one. Mr. Farrar wanted copies of all relevant information so the record would be complete. This includes the payroll record for the week ending 12/26/76 and the document with the handwritten comment. The payroll record does not state why Mr. Bouvier was not paid for the two days. Mr. Bouvier's 1977 evaluation, dated 1/24/77, for the year of 1976, states that departmental action was taken. Mr. Paulsen moved that the City Council, in reference to grievance #808, uphold the actions of the City Manager and continue the suspension in the form which was modified by the City Manager, which is that the length of the suspension was reduced from 3 days to 2 days. Mr. Towne seconded the motion. Mr. Farrar commented that everyone backs himself into a corner sometimes, but people have to know where their priorities and their duty lies. He sympathized with Mr. Bouvier, but said that if the suspension were only for his tardiness, even though it caused a lot of inconvenience, it might not be cause for direct suspension. On the other hand, he felt that police officers had special responsibilities on the job and one of these is that they are expected to approach the world with more forbearance than others. He felt that losing one's temper with one's supervisor was a serious situation and that the actions taken by management were justifiable. Messrs. Burgess and Flaherty abstained and Messrs, Farrar, Towne and Paulsen voted yes on the motion. The grievance was denied by 3-0 and the actions of the City Manager were sustained. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.