OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
JULY 1, 2016
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
FOURTH FUN
Big bang of a holiday and here’s where it’s happening – Page 70
FREE
IAFF contract in effect, but talks ongoing As new fiscal year begins, city’s final offer stands, but some wiggle room remains
STEWART DOBSON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
MAIN ISSUE
A dozen Public Works Department employees hustle to repair a broken water main under Coastal Highway at 44th Street late Tuesday afternoon, after the rupture and the department’s response to it forced the closure of all but the bus lane on parts of the highway. Altogether, digging down through the roadbed, locating the problem, installing a stainless steel clamp on the cracked portion of the eight-inch main and backfilling the hole took less than four hours.
Now, your weekend weather: it’s all good Monday evening’s a little iffy, but that could change, as coastal systems often do
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (July 1, 2016) Bookended, at this point, by fleeting chances of scattered
or isolated thunderstorms or showers, this weekend is shaping up to be mostly perfect beach weather, according to two Baltimore-area meteorologists. WJZ Meteorologist Chelsea Ingram and WBAL Morning Meteorologist Ava Marie agree the chances of a holiday heat wave are pretty much
zero, but will instead feature seasonable weather with highs in the low 80s to high 70s. With the jet stream sitting just south of the lower shore, it paves the way for a cold front to move in and throw some storms through the area — just how fast that cold front approaches is going to make the difference. See JULY Page 15
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (July 1, 2016) Starting today, Ocean City government’s “best and final offer” converts into the official three-year contract with the local firefighters’ union under contentious terms. “We’re in unchartered waters,” Ryan Whittington, the president of the Chapter 4269 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said this week. “The firefighters and paramedics Union still are going to continue pushing for moving forward in the referendum aspects that we curwith its rently have.” In mid-February, petition negotiations between – Page 3 the union and city officials broke down over moving firefighters and paramedics from the long-standing shift schedule of 24 hours on-duty, followed by 72 hours off-duty to 12-hour shifts. On March 1, Mayor Rick Meehan announced that the city would proceed with the offer that was still on the table. According to the contract, employees hired after June 30, 2013 are scheduled to work four-week cycles of any shift combination to equal a See SCHEDULE Page 3
Law enforcement seeks cyber weapon in heroin wars Cloud-based system will help police pull information off smartphones
By Greg Ellison Staff Writer (July 1, 2016) In their efforts to combat the sale of illicit substances, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Enforcement Team is looking to buy the latest in cloud-based software and associated hardware to enable cell phone data extraction.
The sheriff’s office anticipates making the purchase with yet-to-be-approved grant funding applied for on June 14 from the Governors Office of Crime Patrol and Prevention. The Criminal Enforcement Team also is aiming to add a heroin coordinator staff position to provide analytic support for drug investigations. For this latest addition to the war on drugs in Worcester County, the commissioners applied for one-year funding through a state grant totaling just over $70,000, and a recently approved in-kind
county match of more than $5,700. The funding request allocates about $16,000 for the purchase of computer equipment and licensing fees to assist, and in some cases, further investigations. Sgt. Nate Passwaters, who is the fiscal officer for the grant funding, provided details about the technology upgrades, beginning with the Cellebrite Cloud Analyzer. “We have a piece of equipment, its software based, it’s called the Cellebrite extraction device,” he said. See COURT Page 6
Ocean City Today
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JULY 1, 2016
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Ocean City Today
JULY 1, 2016
PAGE 3
Schedule change still sticking point in dispute Continued from Page 1 total of 48 hours a week, with the fourth week at 36 hours. The shifts “may include, but is not limited to” a two-days on, two-days off schedule that is outlined in the document. The shift schedule goes into effect in October 2017. Shortly after the negotiation period ended, the IAFF in March filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the city. The city’s legal counsel formally responded a week later. The labor dispute will be taken to a
Union still seeks arbitration as fix to ongoing clash
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (July 1, 2016) Although the city’s contract with the firefighter/paramedic union is now in effect, the local IAFF chapter is forging ahead with its battle for the hearts and minds of Ocean City’s voters. In the last four weeks, members of the Chapter 4269 of the International Association of Fire Fighters have been knocking on doors and asking residents to sign a petition that will bring binding interest arbitration to a referendum ballot in the next election. “It’s going well, and we’re moving forward,” said Ryan Whittington, the union president. “We’ll all get together and have a meeting, and from that meeting point, we’ll go out in groups of two or three and take one street at a time. The numbers fluctuate. If we meet at 10 a.m., we may have 10 people meet. Then some people drop off, and more people join in.” Since the moment on June 8 when Whittington formally announced the petition in a press release, firefighters and paramedics have been campaigning for binding arbitration. The petition comes on the heels of a dispute over eliminatSee FIREFIGHTER’S Page 5
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third-party arbitrator in December, according to Whittington. In addition, the IAFF launched a petition four weeks ago to add binding interest arbitration to its contract via an election referendum. “Hopefully, those pieces will be resolved and we will be able to make a resolution that’s able to work for everything in the best interest for our citizens and our firefighters and paramedics,” Whittington said. Both parties have said they would be willing to reopen discussions, and there has been some headway. Union representatives and Council President Lloyd Martin, Councilman Doug Cymek and Meehan met privately before the council approved the contract in April. Recently, Whittington has contacted city officials who were on the bargaining team to help re-
solve the impasse. “We asked the city manager [Doug Miller] to reach out to him and see where that was going to take us,” said Councilman Wayne Hartman, who took part in contract negotiations. He added that he has not heard any results from these discussions since Miller was asked to speak with Whittington last Tuesday. “We are still open to discuss the schedule,” Hartman said. “There are a few other issues, but scheduling seems to be their biggest issue.” Under the contract, union members will receive step increases in pay at percentages varying from 1.5 to five percent, depending on the position. The first increase will kick in halfway through next fiscal year, on Jan. 1 2018. The next will occur on Jan. 1, 2019.
Further, the scales will be given a one percent cost-of-living-adjustment each year. Overall, the pay increases add roughly $51,100 in salary and cost-of-living increases in FY2018 and an increase of $146,850 in payroll expenses in FY2019. The total compensation package, including benefits for full time employees ranked below captain, would be $118,182 according to officials. Although the contract’s impact won’t be felt for another year, the open lines of communication have made a resolution feasible before Oct. 2017. “It depends on where we go from here,” Whittington said. “We have to continue to communicate, and if things stay on the right track as they are now, I can be hopeful. But, of course, there is no guarantee at all.”
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