Collective Bargaining - Commissioner Demmler Open Letter

Hello All:

I'm sending this to a some who I'm certain are well aware of the recent unfortunate controversy regarding the introduction by our delegation of legislation which the majority of the commissioners oppose. I ask that you pass it on to others who may have an interest and are on your email lists....Thanks!

This legislation (House Bill 916 and Senate Bill 726) would allow for a referendum regarding collective bargaining with or without binding arbitration. One might suppose allowing the public to decide this question is the ultimate answer, but there is much more to the story.

Last year, through much negotiation, the County and FOP attempted to arrived at a collective bargaining agreement that would give the FOP a voice in the budget process, yet would offer protection to the taxpayer from a final opinion of an outside arbitrator. But in the end, we could not reach a final compromise we could both live with, so the County did not include Collective Bargaining for the FOP among the legislative requests.

This year, those speaking for the FOP went directly to the Delegation and between them (beyond the knowledge of the commissioners) legislation was written...on both the question of collective bargaining with binding arbitration, or bargaining without it. The bill calls for the question to be placed on the ballot, and the winning choice comes with the enabling legislation. To our knowledge there will not be a choice labeled "neither."

Without the courtesy of having this legislation to review, the commissioners were asked to offer an opinion shortly before it was "dropped." We took the stand that we could not agree to support (or not) without first having the full bill in front of us to study. This was taken as an affront, and the bill submitted.

We've since had time to read through the legislation and find it very troubling. Neither choice is the version we had worked so diligently on the previous year. We feel it imperative that budget authority not be taken from elected officials and placed with an arbitrator who is not accountable to the citizens and who likely would not be a citizen of Cecil County. We feel this bill is going around the role of the county commissioners and its introduction without our approval is a clear abuse of power.

Because we oppose the bill, very heated accusations have been thrown toward the commissioners. We've read in the paper and email and have had an extremely heated and unkind anonymous letter mailed to our homes...all essentially telling us that we do not support our police. We are told of the low pay of the deputies. We are accused of treating the deputies terribly over the years. The facts prove that none of these are true. Through the years the deputies have been treated very well. Pay increases were progressive. We've approved a steady addition of vehicles and equipment when needed. A new headquarters was opened.

Certainly, we all hold our police officers in high esteem and support them as best we can within the confines of a budget. We recognize the special challenges of their work. It is very unfair to characterize any of us as not valuing our fine police officers.

Although some surrounding areas have traditionally paid a higher wage, we should see that this is naturally the case of counties that enjoy a higher tax-base. Always keep in mind that the dollars to pay salaries and equipment comes from the tax-payer. Due to the outcry from the taxpayer and the state of our recent economy, we've found it necessary for the second year to deny a step increase or a cost of living increase for ALL of our employees. This is not as a 'pick on you' mentality, but as a necessity due to this weak economy that all of us together have had to endure. Those who count themselves among the "no new taxes" group should be especially troubled over this legislation.

With that...I will include below educational information regarding Collective Bargaining and questions and answers that relate directly to the different forms of Collective Bargaining. This is quite lengthy, but I hope you take the time to read through it. It will answer many questions.

This can also be found on the ccgov.org webpage....under "News Highlights"....third listing "News Briefs."

Again...I'd appreciate if you would pass this along to all you know who may be interested.

Thank you for your time in reading this.

Rebecca J. Demmler
Commissioner, 2nd District