By Dan Moffett
Manalapan commissioners are grumbling about the high cost of litigating grievances with the Police Benevolent Association, and that could mean tougher contract negotiations between the town and union next year.
Since the current three-year contract went into effect in September 2012, Manalapan officers have filed about 10 grievances through the union, according to Town Manager Linda Stumpf. None of them has been upheld.
Though the department and town have prevailed, taxpayers have gotten stuck with the bill for hiring outside counsel to work the cases. In the last fiscal year, it cost Manalapan $37,082 in legal fees to fight the grievances and deal with the complaints filed by resident Kersen De Jong, who has accused the department and Chief Carmen Mattox of misconduct and racial profiling — charges that independent investigations did not substantiate.
Earlier this year, Officer Paul Williams, then Manalapan’s PBA representative, filed a grievance accusing a fellow officer of creating a hostile work environment. Williams lost the case and then left the department in May. The town got stuck with the bill for his complaint, however.
Beyond paying legal fees for that grievance, Stumpf said hiring an outside investigator to conduct the internal affairs review of Williams’ allegations cost about $10,000.
Mayor David Cheiftez, annoyed about paying to litigate cases the town wins, said he has floated the idea of insisting on a “loser pays” provision for grievances when negotiations on the next PBA contract begin in the spring.
While it’s unlikely the union will easily consent to that, town commissioners are sending a message with the proposal.
“The town was extremely generous with the last contract,” Stumpf said. “The commission definitely wanted to make the point now that there have been too many frivolous grievances filed. The town isn’t going to be as generous this time.”
Stumpf has allocated money in the 2014-15 budget for two other cases.
In June, the town fired police Officer David Hul after complaints about his handling of a disturbance at Manalapan Pizza. Hul, who filed a grievance with the union, is scheduled to have an arbitration hearing with the town in December.
Then there is also the long-running legal battle between Manalapan and Louis and Wendy Navellier. In 2005, the Navelliers began construction on a pool cabana without obtaining a permit or a variance. Code enforcement fines have accumulated to about $500,000, and the town has spent more than $350,000 in legal fees over nine years.
In court, the Navelliers have accused the town of being unreasonable and engaging in selective enforcement, arguing that other Manalapan homeowners have violated codes but haven’t been penalized or have received variances.
The Florida Supreme Court declined to review the case last year, but attorneys for the Navelliers notified the town last month that they intend to go forward and appeal a magistrate’s decision on the fines that was made in March. So the battle goes on.
At the Aug. 20 budget workshop, the commission approved a property tax rate of $3.03 per $1,000 of taxable value, up from the current $2.90. The higher rate is still the lowest in Palm Beach County, and the town will have to pull about $167,000 from its reserves to pay for the Audubon Causeway Bridge project. Budget hearings are scheduled for Sept. 17 and Sept. 23.
Stumpf said she is hopeful the $20,000 set aside for legal fees in the proposed budget will be enough. Ú
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