Town and police union at odds over new contract

Negotiations are over, impasse has been declared and the town and the Longboat Key Police Union are barely on speaking terms.

In an Aug. 27 email to Mayor Jim Brown, police officer and union representative Chris Skinner sent an email to Mayor Jim Brown, asking for a meeting “to share concerns and to provide some information specifically about each officer's job knowledge, training, and experience they have obtained in their law enforcement careers.”

While Skinner said the union’s attorney said it was “completely acceptable” for commissioners to meet with union representatives before a special magistrate reviews the issues of the contract negotiations next month, Brown politely declined the invitation in a follow-up email to Skinner.

“While I can understand your frustration, I'm sure you understand as a member of the bargaining committee that I cannot meet with you to discuss anything to do with the current negotiations,” Brown wrote. “If you have a proposal to offer your group should call for a bargaining session to discuss it with our bargaining committee. Under the rules of bargaining this is the only way to bring your proposal forward. I hope you can understand my position.”

For more information, pick up a copy of next week’s Longboat Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].