In another effort to stop scheduled layoffs among Cincinnati police and other city workers, unions for the city employees went before the Cincinnati Civil Service Commission Thursday to argue their cases.
Bill Gustavson, a lawyer representing the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, says the city has acted in "bad faith" and there was, in their words, "an abuse of discretion" by the city in moving so quickly to ordering layoffs.
Gustavson says an audit of city financial records shows the city has upwards of $20 million in unspent or uncommitted funds. He says that the FOP and its members say that money should be used to save jobs of police officers all over the city.
He cited several different figures to show that the City of Cincinnati has millions of dollars left to keep paying police officers through the end of the year.
City Manager Milton Dohoney has previously called for the layoffs of 138 officers. Some of the officers who are not being laid off, are being demoted or moved to outdoors patrol shifts from jobs that mainly involved desk duty.
Meanwhile, the CODE union says at least 10 of its members are being demoted and forced to switch to other jobs with the city at a loss of $10,000 to $13,000 on average per worker.
Attorneys for the city of Cincinnati disputed the union allegations. They say there is a real budget deficit that they will face between now and the end of the year. They also say there are personnel and labor costs that only come in the second half of the year.
After getting statements from both sides, the commission agreed to call up Mark Macke, an audit company Certified Public Accountant, to explain how he arrived at figures showing the city is not in a deficit.
The Civil Service hearing is being held as both unions and the city wait to hear from Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Winkler. He is considering making a ruling in a union lawsuit against the city. Both the FOP and the CODE union argue that the city cannot lay off workers.
There is no word from Judge Winkler on when he'll issue a decision although he has told all parties that he considers making the decision 'a priority.'
The commission has moved on without a making a decision. It appears the commission may not issue a finding Thursday on the union's efforts to appeal the layoffs.
9News and WCPO.com will update this story when we have more information.
