PBA, Village to start talks

Neither side is willing to say much as the Village of Granville and the Granville Police union prepare to enter negotiations for a new contract.

The four-year police contract expired June ,  and negotiations have not started on the new labor agreement.

A potentially costly provision of the recently expired contract provides health insurance for life for retired police officers.

The officers must pay a percentage of the cost which ranges between five and nine  percent under the old agreement with the village paying the remainder of the costs.

Asked if this could prove a sticking point in the new talks, union president Sgt. David Williams said he would not get into specifics.

“It’s a negotiation so everything is up for negotiation,” Williams said. The provision had not been in previous police contracts.

Williams said the village and union had not talked prior to the expiration of the labor agreement, pending the outcome of the Bourn hearing.

Mayor Brian LaRose said the village had not waited on the hearing outcome and attributed the delay in beginning talks to both sides being busy. LaRose said the decision regarding when to begin talks had nothing to do with the Bourn ruling’s outcome.

“There are no problems between the two sides it’s just a matter of coordinating (meeting) times – my expectations are things are going to turn out just fine,” LaRose said.

LaRose said he expects negotiations to begin soon.

“Everything is going according to plan actually; correspondence has been sent to the union and I met with (village attorney) Mike Martin last Tuesday to have him contact their representative and set up meeting as soon as possible,” LaRose said.

“It’s just one of those things where it’s taking a little longer than expected to set up,” LaRose said.

Recently, an arbiter’s ruling directed the village to continue to provide health insurance to former patrol officer Greg Bourn.

Following his retirement Bourn took another job which offered health insurance coverage.

Provisions in the police contract called for retired officers to switch to a new plan at a post-retirement job, should it provide better or equivalent insurance coverage.

The village claimed the insurance from Bourn’s new job was good enough to prompt a switch; he disagreed and the case went before an arbiter who ruled in favor of Bourn.