Assembly overrides mayoral veto

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough Assembly overrode Mayor Larry DeVilbiss’ veto of an ordinance that created four new fire captains positions at the Valley’s largest fire department Tuesday.

DeVilbiss said that he did not object to the positions.

“I had no problem with the original legislation,” he said.

What he did object to was an amendment made to the ordinance that removed language putting the positions into the category of those that aren’t included under the union representing firefighters.

“If our intent is for these to be management, non-union positions down the road we’re sending the wrong signal by plugging them in any other way,” the mayor said.

After the assembly overrode DeVilbiss’s veto, Assemblyman Ron Arvin tried to re-amend the ordinance to make the positions non-union again.

The problem, though, is that the borough is heading into arbitration proceedings over emergency services positions over union representation. Union membership covers some positions the borough thinks should be exempt, and exempts other positions the union officials think should be covered.

Mat-Su Borough Manager John Moosey said either way, the assembly created the four captains positions and they are likely to end up in arbitration.

“We believe these are management positions (and) they should be exempt,” Moosey said. “How we treat time off, overtime, all those things, it’s important to us. It’s a cost issue.”

DeVilbiss said he still believes it matters that the borough said at the outset that the positions were exempt.

“It will happen either way but we will have (given) up our position,” he said.

Assemblyman Steve Colligan agreed.

“These are management positions that supervise,” he said. “That’s just the bottom line. To worry about anything else is in my mind not a good management position.”

But, eventually, the assembly decided not to change the ordinance. Assemblyman Matthew Beck said he didn’t support it because Moosey recommended against it.

“I would suggest that we support the manager in the job that we have hired him to do,” Beck said.

Moosey said he wanted to save the argument for the arbitration hearings.

“Let’s not have the argument, let’s get these people on the roads,” he said.

He said that a state edict requiring emergency responders to stick to a 29.5-hour work week or be offered retirement benefits has hamstrung the department.

“They’re doing great but they’re getting worn out,” he said.

Mat-Su Borough Attorney Nick Spiropoulos said that because they were created without that exemption written into the job description, the four positions would be in the union until the arbiter’s decision.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.