Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005 | 8:11 a.m.
Clark County Manager Thom Reilly on Tuesday described a lawsuit filed by the Metro Police Protective Association as "theater" and said the complaint doesn't appear to have merit. The police union lawsuit, filed Monday, states Nevada laws governing the Metro Fiscal Affairs Committee don't give it the authority to deny police contracts.
Last month the five-member committee, which has approved Metro contracts since its formation in 1973, voted 3-2 against a proposed four-year contract that would provide a 25.6 percent increase in salary and benefits.
Chapter 280.320 of the Nevada Revised Statutes states contract negotiations between Metro and the Police Protective Association must involve "the (Fiscal Affairs) committee or two or more persons designated by it," and "the sheriff or a person designated by him."
However, the law does not explicitly give the committee authority to deny a police contract. Union Executive Director David Kallas said he never questioned the authority of Fiscal Affairs because it has always voted on police contracts.
"It became somewhat ceremonial and traditional, but it was never required," Kallas said. The contract denial prompted the review of the law.
Reilly said the county interprets the law as granting the committee the right, but noted that representatives of Metro and the police association signed an additional agreement to abide by the committee's decision.
A two-page document outlining ground rules for the negotiations, dated Feb. 2 and signed by representatives of Metro and the union, includes a condition that "all agreements are tentative and subject to final approval of the Association members, the Sheriff, and the Fiscal Affairs Committee."
"That's what they agreed to follow," Reilly said.
However, Kallas said a judge should throw out the agreement because police association officials thought they had no choice under the law but to sign it.
"We signed it in error. We made a mistake," Kallas said. "We're asking the court to rectify it."
The lawsuit also accuses Clark County officials -- and Reilly in particular -- of spreading "misinformation for the purpose of confusing the citizens of the county and city."
Kallas said the county's statements that police would be getting a 40 percent salary and benefit boost amounts to interference with the contract. The 40 percent is the sum of increases from the proposed contract and existing "step increases" that about two-thirds of the rank-and-file will receive over the four-year contract.
Reilly said all of his statements have been accurate, and the Police Protective Association did not mention any of his specific comments in its legal complaint.
Reilly said the meat of the lawsuit deals with procedural issues that should be handled by the state's Employee-Management Relations Board, not a judge.
J. Craig Anderson can be reached at 259-2320 or at [email protected].
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