The city must pay a retired police captain more than $17,000 in benefits for time he did not work following his retirement because those payments have been "past practice" in the Salem Police Department for more than 25 years, an arbitrator ruled.
Capt. John Jodoin, who retired on July 8, 2010, should have been paid holiday and vacation pay, as well as other stipends, for the remaining 11 months in that fiscal year, according to a ruling this week by Richard Boulanger of the American Arbitration Association.
The arbitrator said the city violated the contract and past practices in Salem.
When Jodoin retired, the city had paid the veteran officer $48,000 for unused vacation and sick days, a contractual benefit for municipal employees.
However, Mayor Kim Driscoll refused to pay an additional $17,000 in retirement stipends and other benefits that the Police Department had approved for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2011.
The Salem Police Superior Officers union filed a grievance, objecting to what it said was an arbitrary and unilateral move by the mayor.
On Monday, the arbitrator sided with the union.
"The city of Salem violated the parties' collective bargaining agreement and past practices by not paying to Capt. John Jodoin his total vacation leave and other contractual benefits and stipends when he retired in July 2010," Boulanger stated in his 43-page decision.
The arbitrator ordered the city to pay the back money with interest.
Driscoll said it is "highly unlikely" the city will appeal.
"I don't like the decision, and I think it's a bad policy to pay retiring employees for prospective holidays and stipends," the mayor said in a statement. "Upon learning of this issue, we tried to end the practice. Unfortunately, the arbitrator sided with the union. As such, we'll have to abide by the decision."
The Salem News was not able to reach the union's lawyer.
During the arbitration, several police officers, including retired Chief Robert St. Pierre, testified that these benefits have been paid for years.
"The chief testified without contradiction that during his 25-year career the department paid prospective benefits and stipends that were added to the payroll, and that he did so following his predecessor's practices..." the arbitrator stated.
"The significance of the chief's testimony is that the past practice pre-dated his tenure as chief, giving more support to the finding that it has existed for a lengthy period of time."
Additionally, St. Pierre, who retired two years ago, testified that he authorized that unused holidays be included in the retirement package beginning in 2002 as part of the settlement of a grievance.
The city argued that it had agreed to pay sick leave buyback and unused vacation days, but was unaware of the additional payments and stipends, benefits it said were not funded by the City Council or covered by the contract.
There can be no past practice, the city argued, if funds for the retirement payments were not appropriated by the City Council. The city also contended it was "unaware of such payments," according to the arbitrator's report.
The city said it stopped making the payments when it moved to a new centralized payroll system and became aware of practice. Jodoin just happened to be the next in line to receive those benefits.
The arbitrator rejected almost all of the city's arguments.
All of the benefits claimed were in the contract, he said, and were commonly given to retiring superior officers.
"The evidence indicates that for a considerable number of years the city has provided paid and unpaid benefits/stipends to superior officers in the year in which they retire," Boulanger wrote.
The city must pay the following benefits and stipends to Jodoin: holiday and vacation days; weapon pay; longevity pay; a senior/master/veterans service stipend; a specialists stipend; and defibrillator pay.
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