#Middlebury #Police
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Police Chief Fran Dabbo assured this reporter on May 28 that the issue of special duty pay for police officers working events at Quassy Amusement Park had been worked out between the Town of Middlebury and the police union, at least for now. He said the department would provide police coverage for the Ironman Triathlon event the weekend of May 31 to June 2 through a combination of officers from Middlebury and surrounding police departments and also from the state police.
This was a major shift from the situation Monday, May 20, when Quassy Amusement Park co-owner George Frantzis and the Ironman regional and local representatives attended the Middlebury Board of Selectmen’s meeting. At that time, not one police officer had signed up to work the event, apparently due to a disagreement about what officers would be paid – regular time, overtime or special duty.
The shift followed a Thursday, May 23, meeting between town attorney Robert Smith and a representative from the police union. First Selectman Edward B. St. John said the two parties basically agreed to revert to the status quo before the town adopted a Nov. 1, 2018 ,resolution regarding pay for Middlebury police officers for places of amusement and amusement events. St. John said the agreements made at the May 23 meeting are all subject to further negotiations.
Following last year’s Rev 3 (since acquired by Ironman), Quassy Amusement Park co-owner George Frantzis came to the Middlebury Board of Selectmen June 11 to discuss the police department’s special duty fees, which are paid by event organizers. He said they were $200 per officer with a four-hour minimum per officer. Special duty fees are $73 an hour in Watertown, $75 an hour in Southbury and $95 an hour in Plymouth. Frantzis said he was concerned event organizers would stop coming to Quassy due to the high fees for law enforcement coverage.
In response, St. John had town attorney Robert Smith draft a resolution stating the town’s position on special duty pay. That resolution, adopted Nov. 1, 2018, states that police coverage at places of amusement (i.e., Quassy) shall be paid at the regular rate of pay or at the overtime rate, as appropriate.
On Nov. 2, St. John sent a directive to Chief Dabbo stating officers working at an amusement event will be paid at their usual rate of pay – regular time for those assigned as part of their shift and overtime for those called in to work the event. The police union filed a grievance, and the matter had not been resolved as of May 20.
With the grievance unresolved, the Board of Selectmen on May 20 had to address the issue of law enforcement coverage for this year’s event. St. John reviewed events, starting with the Rev3 getting a bill last year for $32,000 for law enforcement coverage. He explained the town had adopted the resolution and the police union filed a grievance, but he expected they would work events while the grievance was being considered. “You grieve, but you still do the work,” he said.
That was not the case. Chief Dabbo hung up a sign-up sheet, and no one signed up. Union President Sergeant John Krupinsky of Danbury wrote to St. John, saying it was his understanding the town was “not willing to pay the officers the proper amount of compensation for working.” He said he had met with each and every union president of surrounding towns and neither they nor any State Police officer would “cross the line” and work in Middlebury.
In response, on May 1, St. John hand delivered to Chief Dabbo a letter advising him the town would permit officers to work special duty for upcoming Quassy events, under protest. Chief Dabbo advised officers of this change and hung up a second sign-up sheet, but still no one signed up for the event.
The May 23 meeting settled the town/police union differences, at least temporarily. Smith was reluctant to comment during continuing negotiations, but he said thus far the town has agreed not to enforce the Nov. 1 resolution, and the union has agreed to withdraw its complaint about the resolution. We expect to have more information on this issue in the near future.
