Ashland Council axes pedestrian safety funds
BY JOHN E. USALIS TIMES • SHAMROCK WRITER
06/15/2007
ASHLAND — Following a vote Tuesday by the borough’s
full-time police officers not to participate in a state-funded pedestrian
safety program, the Ashland borough council followed suit in turning
down the grant funds at its Wednesday meeting.
Council’s 4-2 vote reversed an approval vote at
its May meeting to accept the $3,000 grant from the Upper Schuylkill
Pedestrian-Motor Safety Program, funded through the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation.
A number of stipulations in the grant award prompted
the police officers to decide not to participate, including lack of
overtime pay for officers working more than 40 hours in the program
and other issues that could be contrary to the police contract.
“We had a meeting with the police bargaining unit
last night,” said Mayor Dennis Kane, in charge of the police
department according to borough code. “What I proposed to the
police department was a compromise, where we would meet halfway so
that each officer would try to give at least 10 hours toward the grant.
Those 10 hours would be spread out over a three-month period.
“We had lengthy discussion about it and the FOP
(Fraternal Order of Police) attorney is under the impression that
it’s illegal to do that,” Kane said. “The policemen’s
concerns are that they have always received time-and-a-half with grants
and this would open the door for problems in the future. It was kicked
around and we looked at it from all different angles. At the end of
the meeting, the bargaining unit voted 4-1 against working the grant.”
Kane said borough council had the option of compelling
the police officers to work the grant, but it would cause the police
bargaining unit to file a grievance.
“According to the contract, the police are obligated
to work their 40 hours a week, and in the event of an emergency or
disaster, they can be compelled to work overtime,” said Kane.
“Beyond that, you really can’t mandate them to do it because
you’re getting into the labor issues.”
Responding to a question from council President Michael
Groody, police Chief Adam J. Bernodin Jr. said the police officers
receive overtime pay during DUI/sobriety checkpoints and seat-belt
compliance initiatives.
Councilman George Demko remarked that part-time police
officers should then be offered the pedestrian program hours, but
Bernodin responded that it would violate the police contract.
Joyce added that the grant award stipulations requires
that half of the hours in the program require police officers to be
on foot patrol in the downtown target area during business hours.
“We hire the police officers. They work for us.
I don’t want anybody from an outside agency telling us where
and when to put our police officers,” said Joyce.
Joyce pointed out that since the May vote, the stipulations
have changed with the grant. Overtime pay was part of the grant award
in May, but that is no longer the case.
Before the vote, Councilwoman Ann Marie Groody announced
she would abstain from the vote, since her husband is a borough police
officer.
Voting to reject the pedestrian grant were Joyce, Leinenbach,
Frank Menne and Michael Groody. Voting to preserve the grant were
Demko and Patti Wesner.
© The REPUBLICAN & Herald
2007
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