No thanks, says Greeley City Council to draft of municipal collective bargaining rights bill in Legislature
By Trenton Sperry
A majority of the Greeley City Council signaled opposition to the draft of a bill at the Colorado Legislature that would guarantee collective bargaining rights to municipal employees.
On a 5-2 vote, with Ward I Councilman Tommy Butler and Ward II Councilwoman Deb DeBoutez opposed, the council voted to inform the Colorado Municipal League of its stance.
The draft of the bill – which has not yet been introduced but is expected to be sponsored by state Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, and House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo – would enable all public workers in non-state roles to join or form a union, and it would require binding arbitration for disputes. Municipal employees would be able to bargain on all aspects of work, including the number of hours they work, the amount of pay they receive, where they work, and the organizational structure of their offices. The legislation does not prohibit strikes, work stoppages, or work slowdowns.
During a presentation to council Tuesday evening, Assistant City Attorney Ned Chapin said the draft of the bill would eliminate provisions of Greeley’s home rule charter dealing with collective bargaining of city employees, which Greeley already allows. Police and firefighters here are unionized, and city employees are able to attempt unionization.
However, Greeley police officers and firefighters are not currently able to strike during negotiations with the city over their union contracts. This bill would allow that. Additionally, impasses between the city and the police and firefighters’ unions go to a vote in Greeley. The draft of the bill would move those disagreements instead to binding arbitration, in which a third party issues a legally binding ruling after a review.
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis has come out publicly against the bill, but negotiations between the bill’s sponsors and Polis on what provisions make it into the legislation are ongoing. Polis is up for re-election this year, and he’s been criticized by Colorado Republicans as having taken a progressive tack as governor rather than having adhered to the more moderate platform he ran on in 2018. (Ironically, Colorado Democrats have complained Polis isn’t progressive enough.)
The municipal league has also signaled opposition to the bill, although its qualms relate to local control rather than any larger stance on collective bargaining. Greeley’s city council members echoed those concerns Tuesday.
“We’re a home rule city,” said Ward III Councilman Johnny Olson. “Having the state come in and tell us what we have to do is overreach by the government. I think we should oppose anything that changes our charter without them coming and having a discussion about it.”
At-large Councilman Brett Payton agreed, as did at-large Councilman Ed Clark and Ward IV Councilman Dale Hall, who is currently vice president of the municipal league.
“One thing being lost here is collective bargaining in the private sector has to do with the bottom line for that company,” Hall said. “For municipalities, it requires citizens who pay taxes to come up with more money to come to an agreement. In binding arbitration, citizens paying for that result don’t have a say.”
Still, Butler urged the council to let negotiations play out before making a public declaration.
“Opposing legislation that doesn’t exist doesn’t seem like it’s the role of our council,” Butler said. “For the record, I strongly support public-sector employees’ ability to unionize and collectively bargain. … But hopefully whatever they end up with does find that middle ground between violating the home rule or not.”
Chapin and Paul Fetherston, deputy city manager for enterprise resources, told the council the Legislature sometimes moves so fast that it helps city staffers to at least have an idea of any principles the council wants to stress to the municipal league.
For her part, DeBoutez, who recently retired after working for the city for decades, said the final version of the bill could be completely different from the draft and that the council might end up regretting its opposition.
“There are ongoing negotiations, and we don’t know what comes out of that,” DeBoutez said. “If we take a position now, we may end up opposed to something that’s actually workable and manageable for us.”
Mayor John Gates generally agreed with Butler and DeBoutez that taking stances on bills that haven’t been introduced is suspect, although he said he’s opposed to the bill as written given what he’s read about it. In the end, he voted with Hall, Payton, Clark and Olson to signal opposition to the current draft.
Incidentally, City Manager Raymond Lee III noted a new staffer starts March 1 who will deal with governmental affairs. Lee said that position should improve the council’s ability to give nods or shakes of the head to bills in Denver in a more timely manner.
Other things the council did Tuesday
Approved first reading of an ordinance to authorize the issuance and sale of up to $17.5 million in stormwater bonds on behalf of Greeley’s enterprise for “financing … the cost of additions and improvements to the stormwater system.” The city already has issued millions in water and sewer bonds; this represents the final component of this push to improve Greeley’s infrastructure in these areas. The stormwater improvements include increasing the system’s capacity to dispose of storm and flood waters, replacing older parts of the system, and improving its reliability. The bonds carry an estimated annual debt service of $900,000 to $1.6 million. A presentation on the stormwater bonds is expected in a couple weeks when the council considers a final reading of the ordinance.
Proclaimed Black History Month 2022 in Greeley. Mayor John Gates read the proclamation aloud during the meeting. It reads: “WHEREAS, Black History Month offers an opportunity to recognize the heritage and achievements of African Americans across the nation, including in Greeley and Weld County; and, WHEREAS, the contributions African Americans have made an continue to make are an integral and essential part of our society and community, and reflect the resilience and innovative spirit that defines our nation; and, WHEREAS, attention to this month offers us a reminder of the importance of teaching and reflection upon the many roles and achievements African Americans have made in advancing the strength of the nation, our state, and local community; and, WHEREAS, the Greeley community is especially fortunate to have the Marcus Garvey Cultural Center on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado, which offers a local resource to learn and appreciate the history and achievements of African Americans; and, WHEREAS, in recognition of Black History Month, the City of Greeley urges the community to reflect upon and honor the accomplishments of African Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our country’s history this month and throughout the year. NOW, THEREFORE, I, John D. Gates, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Mayor of the City of Greeley, do hereby proclaim February 2022 as Black History Month in the City of Greeley, and urge the people of Greeley, Colorado, to observe Black History Month with community programs and activities that celebrate the contributions of African Americans to life in the United States. IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the official seal of the City of Greeley, Colorado, this 1st day of February 2022.”
Received a COVID-19 update from Greeley Fire Department Chief Brian Kuznik, who said the city’s hospitals have seen their numbers of hospitalized COVID patients decline over the past week. Still, he noted UCHealth Greeley’s ICU is at 111% capacity, and that the testing centers here have high positivity rates. The site at Aims Community College has a positivity rate of nearly 43%, and the site at the University of Northern Colorado has a positivity rate of 37%. Kuznik said Greeley’s seven-day positivity rate is about 22% – a decline from last week’s 28%, though he also noted Greeley was at just 7.5% in December. Kuznik said a recent report from the Colorado School of Public Health indicates about 1 in 19 people in Colorado are currently infected with COVID, which is about 5% of the population. He said the report is hopeful that level will decline to about 1% or lower by the end of February. That decline, he said, is predicated on continued increases in vaccination rates, the use of social distancing, and the practice of wearing masks in public. Kuznik said a mobile vaccination van will be in Greeley every Wednesday this month, and that vaccination clinics will take place Feb. 4 and Feb. 25 at the Recreation Center downtown.
Approved a resolution giving an OK to a research agreement with Colorado State University on the effectiveness of aerial mulching treatments to restore watersheds after wildfires. CSU will undertake the research with two professors, two graduate students, and some undergraduate data collectors using drones to spread mulch at the Cameron Peak Fire burn area. Greeley received more than $6 million in grant funds to restore its water interests there, and one of the requirements for the grant was participation in research to measure technique effectiveness. Greeley is passing $203,145 of those grant funds to CSU for the research, and CSU is matching those dollars.
At-large Councilman Ed Clark said he met with the Greeley Youth Commission for the first time in a virtual meeting. He said the participants are working on a campaign against vaping, as well as ways for teenagers who can’t afford private driving lessons to receive them. Greeley’s schools do not offer driver’s education.