Breaking News From County Executive Rick Pollitt

MESSAGE OF VETO OF LEGISLATIVE BILL 2007-3, KNOWN AS THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BILL, BY COUNTY EXECUTIVE RICHARD M. POLLITT, JR.

JANUARY 9, 2008

In November of 2004, the citizens of Wicomico County expressed their loss of confidence in the operation of local government and voted to change the Charter of the county to establish separate Executive and Legislative branches… each with its own specific powers and duties. Those changes were reflected in the ballot of November, 2004 and became effective in December, 2006 when the current County Executive and County Council were installed in office. At that time all swore to uphold the authority of the County Charter.

Having been granted specific powers and duties by the Charter, it is improper to impose a restriction or restraint on the exercise of those powers by legislation, absent specific Charter authorization. For example, legislation could not require the County Executive to follow the rulings of an outside arbitrator in the preparation of his annual budget, nor could legislation require the County Council to exercise its fiscal and budgetary powers in favor of a collective bargaining agreement.

Consequently, when deputies of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Department determined to seek a collective bargaining agreement that included binding arbitration with the county, it became necessary to again amend the Charter. Therefore, a provision was proposed to be added to the Charter, Section 601.1, authorizing the County Council to adopt a labor code which included binding arbitration. That Charter Amendment was subject to a public referendum in November of 2006 and was overwhelmingly adopted by the voters of Wicomico County.

Binding arbitration effectively restricts the County Executive and the County Council’s exercise of their Charter delegated powers. In order to comply with the requirements of the collective bargaining section of the Charter and preserve the structure of government established by the Charter, Legislative Bill 2007-3 was prepared and submitted to the County Council for their consideration.

In drafting the legislation, I instructed County Attorney Ed Baker to follow two basic principles: First, the bill had to implement the will of the citizens as expressed in the referendum and second, it must not threaten or weaken the structure of our new form of government. I take very seriously the expressed concerns of members of the County Council that our bill somehow compromised the checks and balances of our respective offices or imposed undue restrictions on the Council’s role in the budget process. In fact, an early draft of the bill, supported by representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police, would have had me bind the County Council to any arbitration that was imposed on the County Executive. Because I do respect the necessary checks and balances of our government, I would not accept that recommendation, recognizing that such a provision eliminates the powers granted the County Council over fiscal and budgetary matters. The Bill that was actually presented to the Council provided them with authority to enter into their own accelerated process of collective

bargaining… still with binding arbitration; in the event they could not accept the agreement imposed upon the Executive. The powers granted the County Council in its review of the budget, namely to delete or reduce budget items, would be preserved, but exercised during the final negotiation and arbitration process. Thus, the legislation, as introduced, respects the separation of powers, preserves the legislative oversight afforded the County Council under the Charter and complies with the will of the voters in enacting a provision for binding arbitration.

As amended and adopted by the County Council, Legislative Bill 2007-3 only restricts the Executive’s power in requiring that he submit any disputes to binding arbitration and does not provide the deputies with a final binding agreement, effectively dismissing the results and the intent of the referendum so strongly supported by our citizens.

Therefore, the legislation, as amended and adopted, does not satisfy the requirements of section 601.1 of the Charter and must be vetoed. To the extent clarification of section 601.1 is necessary to more specifically delineate the respective budgetary responsibilities of the County Executive and County Council; I would support a proposal for a new Charter Amendment to accomplish that goal.

In my opening paragraph, I referred to a general loss of confidence in local government which, in my opinion, resulted in the establishment of this new system. The same voting public that decided the old system was broken and should be replaced also decided our deputy sheriffs should be able to organize and bargain for better pay and working conditions. And that any agreement resulting from the effort should be binding on the County. If I were to allow this bill, as amended, to become law without a challenge, I would be acquiescing to a process that negates the will of the public and denies to the deputies the very law that they fought so hard to obtain and for which they received overwhelming public support. I can’t see any way that such a course on my part would do anything but further erode the public’s confidence in the responsiveness and effectiveness of their county government.

Having said all that, I am acutely aware that this is the first serious difference of opinion between the County Executive and the County Council. It is the first veto from the first County Executive. I do not relish the occasion and I regret that we were not able to find common ground on this matter. However, I want to assure the Council and I want to assure the citizens that I deeply respect Council’s opposing views and I realize the Council’s decision did not come lightly and was reached only after lengthy discussions with the county attorney and among themselves. I believe the County Council sincerely thinks our legislation was flawed and that there are issues involving checks and balances and the budgetary process. I can only say that if our County Attorney had not assured me that our bill was firmly anchored on solid legal grounds, I would not have submitted it in the first place. In vetoing this bill, I extend the traditional olive branch to the County Council, determined that, for my part, our relationship will remain strong and positive. I will look forward to working closely with them on other matters in the future. The strength of our democracy and the benefit of our mutual respect allows us to disagree in an agreeable fashion and move on together to continue our service to our bosses, the citizens of Wicomico County.

Finally, I have a word about the men and women who have caused us to be here today and are the subject of this debate. I believe with all my heart that all of us in Wicomico County… the citizens, the County Council and myself; feel nothing but respect and appreciation for the jobs performed by our Wicomico Sheriff’s deputies. Council President Cannon has echoed my own words that we in government will do all we responsibly can to support our deputies…not because we’re dragged kicking and screaming to the bargaining table but because it’s the right thing to do.

I confess to having a bit of a personal interest in all this. My grandfather served three terms as Sheriff of Wicomico County. He lived in an apartment on the third floor of the courthouse, separated from the county jail by a single steel door. As a child, I played countless hours in that apartment and in the area of the jail. I got to be friends with the deputies and they would take me along on some of their patrols. It was a good time.

However, the man who followed my grandfather, Sheriff Sam Graham, walked through that steel door one evening and was shot dead by a prisoner escaping from his cell. None of us who get up every morning with a job or a list of things to do, expecting to be home to be with our family that same evening, can fully appreciate the stress and hazards that the men and women of law enforcement face as a routine. During this exercise, I learned chilling facts about the shortened life expectancy of our deputies, their high rate of divorce, and about the physical and psychological challenges that go with the job. I am so proud of these folks and the fact that my family and I can sleep safely at night because they are on the job. We owe them our respect, our gratitude and our best effort at securing them the working conditions that will best provide for them and their families. I know that each member of the County Council feels this way and I am confident that we will work together in the months ahead to do what is right.