(A) The parties acknowledge that it is usually most desirable for an officer and his or her immediate supervisor to resolve problems through free and informal communications. If, however, the informal process does not resolve the matter, the grievance will be processed as follows.
(1) Step 1: Chief of Police. If the grievance is not settled in the informal process and the employee wishes to appeal the grievance, it shall be submitted in writing to the Police Chief within five business days after receipt of the answer of the informal process. A grievance relating to all or a substantial number of employees or the union’s own interests or rights with the employer may be initiated at Step 1 by a union representative. The Police Chief, or his or her designee, shall investigate the grievance and, in the course of such investigation, shall offer to discuss the grievance within five business days with the grievant and an authorized representative of the union at a time mutually agreeable to the parties. The Police Chief or his or her designee shall provide a written answer to the grievant and the union within five business days following their meeting.
(2) Step 2: Mayor. If the grievance is not settled at Step 1, and the employee or the union wishes to appeal the grievance to Step 2, it shall be submitted in writing to the Village Clerk within five business days after receipt of the Chief’s answer to Step 1. Thereafter, the Mayor or her or his designee shall meet with the grievant and a union representative within 15 business days of receipt of the appeal. The Mayor or her or his designee shall submit a written answer to the grievant and the union within ten business days following the meeting.
(3) Step 3: Arbitration. If the grievance is not settled in Step 2 and the union wishes to appeal the grievance, the union may refer the grievance to arbitration as described below, within 15 business days of receipt of the village’s answer provided to the union at Step 2.
(B) In the absence of agreement on the selection of a neutral arbitrator, the parties shall file a joint request with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) for a panel of seven arbitrators from which the parties shall select a neutral arbitrator. The parties shall agree to request the FMCS to limit the panel to members of the National Academy of Arbitrators and to those residing within 100 miles of the village. Both the village and the union shall have the right to reject one panel in its entirety within seven business days of its receipt and request that a new panel be submitted. The village and union shall alternately strike names from the panel. The order of striking names shall be determined by a coin toss with the losing party striking the first, third, and fifth names. The remaining person shall be the arbitrator.
(C) The arbitrator shall be notified of her or his selection and shall be requested to set a date for the hearing, subject to the availability of union and village representatives. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator and the cost of a written transcript for the arbitrator shall be divided equally between the village and the union; provided, however, that each party shall be responsible for compensating its own representative and witnesses.
(Ord. 2014-07, passed 5-20-2014)