MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION held May 9, 2001, for the purpose of hearing requests of the Greenbelt Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) in relation to the FY 2002 proposed budget.

The meeting began at 8:03 p.m. It was held in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Community Center.

PRESENT WERE: Council members Rodney Roberts, Alan Turnbull, Edward Putens, Thomas White and Mayor Davis.

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael McLaughlin, City Manager; and Anne Marie Belton, Executive Secretary.

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Judy Bell with the News Review; Chief Craze; Craig Rich, FOP President; Marty Parker, Treasurer; John Rogers, State Trustee; Gordon Pracht, Recording Secretary; Michael Dewey, Conductor; Lt. Craddock; Lt. Kemp; Sylvia Lewis and John Krob.

Mr. Rich began the meeting by thanking Council for the opportunity to come and talk with them. He informed Council that the FOP still looking at options for a new retirement plan for the officers. Their hopes are to have a consensus on a new plan in the fall of 2001.

Health Insurance - The FOP is requesting that the City contribute 100% of the premium for health care (at the single rate) for retired members. Some of the retired members have commented that maintaining the cost of health insurance creates a financial burden on them. Mr. Turnbull requested that staff inquire with other jurisdictions as to what, if any, type of coverage they provide for their retirees. Both Mayor Davis and Mr. Putens requested information on all retirees that still have insurance coverage through the City’s plan.

On-call pay - The FOP is requesting an increase in the amount an employee receives for being on-call for specialized detail(s). They are requesting that the amount be raised from $3.30 per day to $6.60 per day. The FOP feels this is a fair request when compared to the on-call pay received by the Crisis Intervention Counselors (CIC). Mr. Rich noted that the on-call pay received by a CIC is for being on-call for four weeks when they are actually only on-call for two weeks.

Annual leave cap increase - The FOP is requesting that the annual leave cap of 240 hours per year be raised to 300 hours per year. This request is based on the department being short staffed, therefore minimizing the opportunity for officers to take annual leave. Council requested a report to aid in deciding whether or not to approve this request. The information requested is as follows: number of annual leave hours converted to sick leave, number of hours bought back (annual leave buy back), distribution of annual and sick leave taken, and a list of the largest amounts of sick leave available.

Informational Items - Mr. McLaughlin advised Council that an upcoming meeting held by Citizens to Conserve and Restore Indian Creek is to get information out to the public regarding the Greenbelt Metro site. Mr. McLaughlin also stated that the May 15 Council meeting be a special meeting to review information for the public hearing with Park and Planning. A revised Boys and Girls Club contribution request was distributed to Council; they are now requesting $10,000 as opposed to $13,000. Mayor Davis informed Council that Donny Wolfe’s wife had a stroke last week. Mayor Davis also requested that the City Manager evaluation form be turned into her by Tuesday, May 22. It was suggested to hold an Executive Session May 30 to discuss the evaluations and then meet with Mr. McLaughlin before the budget adoption on June 4.

The meeting ended at 8:55 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Anne Marie Belton

Executive Secretary

City of Greenbelt, Maryland
City Offices, 25 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Phone: 301-474-8000 FAX: 301-441-8248