Weyburn Mayor Debra Button is upset with the protracted nature of contract negotiations with the City's police union. Reacting to concerns raised by local residents, she is calling for a renewed commitment to finding a resolution at the bargaining table.
"We've had a strike mandate hanging over these negotiations for months," stated Mayor Button. "That threat is making our residents uneasy, especially at a time when the City is facing the challenges of a heavy spring runoff. We need to find a solution at the bargaining table and soon."
"I also want to assure local residents that the City's bargaining team is ready, willing and able to put a 'shoulder to the wheel' to get this done," she said. "We're serious about finding an acceptable contract to restore a feeling of stability to the local community."
Mayor Button will not discuss the detailed positions of the two sides, noting the city administration's policy is that it will not negotiate in public or through the media. However, she concedes the negotiations have been drawn out and frustrating.
"I will not negotiate in the media so I won't talk about specifics of the positions being advanced by the two parties," she said. "However, there are basic facts already in the public domain."
"First, Weyburn's crime rate has changed very little over the last decade," Button said. "Second, over the last dozen years, the 'calls to service' which includes everything from attending a crime scene to complaints about barking dogs has changed only marginally. Third, since roughly 85 per cent of the police budget is devoted to salaries, the administration takes its responsibility to be prudent in negotiations seriously because any changes have a long-term impact on the civic budget as evidenced by the fact that the City of Weyburn's expenditure on policing services has risen by 174-per-cent in the past dozen years while crime rates have remained largely static."
"Clearly Weyburn's taxpayers have demonstrated a strong commitment to policing services and we will continue to fund policing but with 85 per-cent of the expenditures being salaries we must be responsible," said Mayor Button.
