Scenes from a pension battle
Bonner Spring Mayor Jeff Harrington overturned a vote of the city council that supported officers’ right to collectively bargain.
In Kansas, the Bonner Springs Police Department battled it out with the city’s mayor recently at a standing-room only city council meeting.
Here’s the background- about two years ago, the Bonner Springs City Council considered allowing collective bargaining between the city and the Bonner Springs Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. That was proposal was defeated in March 2012.
Then the council approved the contract in a 5-3 vote. The mayor vetoed the council’s vote.
The move to kill the council vote by Mayor Jeff Harrington was the first time a mayor has vetoed an issue in the town for nearly 10 years.
Then the war of words took place.
“You sir, decided you would enforce your will over the majority of this body and that is wrong,” Pete Fogarty from the Kansas F.O.P. said.
The mayor then read a letter he had written about his decision instead of participating in a debate.
“I am vetoing this ordinance purely in the best interest of the city,” it read in part.
“Collective bargaining will only improve your police department,” a National FOP board member from Oklahoma said.
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
