Contract mediation between the Port Arthur Police Association and the City of Port Arthur is set for mid-July, as both sides remain steadfast amid legal action and differences of opinion.

The contention all began with what the PAPA say was a typographical error in the end date of a contract and there are in an Evergreen period while the city contends the contract was officially ended and there was no one-year Evergreen period.

Evergreen refers to a collective bargaining agreement that automatically extends a contract for a set period of time if a new contract is not initiated.

Both Port Arthur Police Sgt. Scott Gaspard, president of the police association and Port Arthur City Manager Brian McDougal have high hopes for the July mediation meeting.

“We hope to come to an agreement on all of the articles (in the contract) and get to work on the next contract,” Gaspard said.

McDougal agreed, saying the mediation is to settle on the last 15 or so issues and he hopes to get them all settled.

The previous contract between the city and police union ended Sept. 30, 2015 and the Evergreen date was supposed to read Sept. 30, 2016, not 2015, PAPA contends.

“They (PAPA) assume the contract date was a typo or somebody wrote the date down incorrectly. That’s their allegation, it was never mine,” McDougal said. “To me, the contract was over as of Sept. 30 last year. We still maintain the contract with the exception of the 3 percent pay increase council approved last year.”

In effort to prove the date was a typo, an attorney with the PAPA called upon Albert Thigpen, former human resources director, and John Comeaux, who previously served as assistant city manager and interim city manager. In a taped deposition dated Nov. 19, 2015, Thigpen stated that, as a chief negotiator with the city at the time he believed the date should have read 2016 and an Evergreen Clause should have carried over until Sept. 30, 2016.

Likewise, Comeaux, in a taped deposition also dated Nov. 19, 2015, stated he believed the two parties were in an Evergreen period between Sept. 30, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2015 and that Evergreen should have carried over to Sept. 30, 2016.

“During this timeframe, in talking with John Comeaux and Albert Thigpen and with the city manager saying we had no contract, we realized we had to protect the membership and filed a temporary Restraining Order. We didn’t want to do it but it had to be done,” Gaspard said.

The TRO was filed Dec. 22, 2015 “to preserve the status quo of all rights and benefits” owned to the police association under the Oct. 1. 2014 to Sept. 30, 2015 collective bargaining agreement which includes a 3 percent pay increase given to other city employees.

With the legal document in place, the two parties continued contract negotiations earlier this year with PAPA believing there were only a handful of issues to talk though.

McDougal said 31 of 46 articles have been agreed upon.

Gaspard said ground rules for negotiations were set as the parties came to the table but some issues the association believed were agreed upon, weren’t agreed upon in the city’s opinion.

“Even an item such as a bullet proof vest. It is recommended we get new ones every five years or if they are not operational, then change them out,” Gaspard said. “The city wants to make it to where the chief of police has to be the one to say when each vest is changed.

Gaspard said this has never been an issue of contention between the parties before.

McDougal disagreed with the association’s interpretation of the issue.

“We will follow the manufactures recommendation and it should be at management’s discretion if it gets replaced otherwise,” McDougal said. “We are not going to put any officer at risk because of a faulty or worn out vest. All we want to do is follow manufacturers recommendation. We just need to discuss the language. We want the police to be safe.”

With time ticking away, PAPD declared an impasse and on May 27, 2016, filed a request for binding interest arbitration. This requires both parties to choose an arbitrator within five days. The PAPA chose one, the City refused saying it would not agree to the arbitration process.

The appointment of appointing an arbitrator is required by Chapter 174, Local Government Code and by city ordinance. The ordinance was one that was approved by voters.

As the time frame for picking an arbitrator came and went, the association, on June 6, filed a writ of mandamus “compelling the city to pick an arbitrator.”

Gaspard admitted to being a bit frustrated at how police associations in surrounding cities slide through negotiations and come to a quick conclusion that both parties support.

“One of the things that’s frustrated us is that Nederland (Police) did their contract with their city in one session in two hours,” Gaspard said. “The Port Arthur Police Association is asking for nothing but status quo.”

Gaspard believes the issue is about more than city leaders dragging their feet in during contract negotiations.

“Because of the way McDougal is handling things, my personal opinion is that he is trying to bust the union,” Gaspard said. “The reason for the Port Arthur Police Association as a union is one reason and one reason only — so we can provide the best police services to the citizens of Port Arthur.”

McDougal counters the argument of the city trying to “run out the clock.”

“We are trying to get a contract and go through all of the items that need to be cleaned up,” McDougal said. “I still maintain we began negotiations at the regular time and the city negotiated over a year. We truly want to negotiate a good contract and it takes some time to do it.”

Sept. 30 is the deadline for a new contract to be in place.

Mary Meaux: 409-721-2429

Twitter: @MaryMeauxPANews