On Monday, a group of community leaders will call on the Tallahassee City Commission to slow down before approving new contract language with the local chapter of the Police Benevolent Association. It’s the latest development in the case of a Tallahassee police officer who tested positive for drugs but wasn’t fired.
The heated argument among city commissioners at their March 8th meeting involved whether Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell has the authority to retain an officer with a positive drug test.
City policy says illegal drug use is a firing offense. But Article 8 of the city’s collective bargaining agreement with the PBA says the chief has discretion over whether to fire in that situation.
City Manager Reese Goad has said he backs Revell. The city’s former HR director, Ellen Blair, who disagreed with Revell’s decision, was fired after the March 8th meeting.
Now a group that includes City Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter is decrying what they call a quote: “hasty move by City Management to schedule final passage of the police union’s contract with the City…evidently in order to bypass public discussion.” The group is planning a press conference at 11.
City spokeswoman Alison Faris responded: “The City Commission provided guidance to the City’s negotiating team last month at an executive session held on February 22. With the negotiating teams having reached an agreement, the next steps in the process are for the union members to vote on Monday and if passed, the City Commission to ratify the agreement on Wednesday.”
