Overview
The negotiations and approval of the Superiors’ Contract were fraught with multiple missteps by all parties tasked with safeguarding the fiscal management of the City.
Mayor Zanni agreed to a costly contract without conducting appropriate due diligence, such as reading the contract (in draft or final form) or requesting a financial impact statement by an auditor. The city solicitor failed to review the Superiors’ Contract, even after the City’s budget shortfall came to light. Chief Solomon and Captain Gallant acted in their own financial interests and, at a minimum, they were not forthcoming about unbargained-for terms contained in the Superiors’ Contract.
Finally, Mayor Zanni did not exercise due diligence or demonstrate sound management when he negotiated Chief Solomon’s contract extension. The resulting contract makes Chief Solomon one of the highest-paid police chiefs in the country. Mayor Zanni also failed to include basic oversight provisions in the contract, and he agreed to provisions that make it both difficult and expensive to terminate or discipline Chief Solomon.
Recommendations
The OIG makes the following recommendations:
- First and foremost, City officials and the chief of police must put the City’s interests above their own. In carrying out their duties, they must diligently fulfill their fiduciary obligations to the public. Since being sworn into office in January 2020, Mayor Neil Perry has taken important steps to improve the City’s oversight and governance. For instance, Mayor Perry hired an audit firm to conduct a performance audit of the police department. He also created the position of Director of Human Resources to provide the City and City employees with a dedicated human resources manager as well as to update policies and procedures for the City. Furthermore, Mayor Perry hired an assistant city solicitor to serve as his legal advisor.68
- The mayor must exercise due diligence in all contract negotiations. This includes:
a. Being fully prepared for contract negotiations, including being familiar with the current salaries of the City’s employees, understanding the compensation packages in similarly situated municipalities and understanding the City’s budget constraints.
b. Selecting a negotiating team that has expertise in the legal and fiscal review of collective bargaining agreements, including the ability to analyze the financial and legal consequences of every contract term.
c. Excluding anyone who may have a conflict of interest from the City’s negotiating team.
d. Requiring the negotiating team to memorialize agreements in writing immediately following each negotiation session and present these writings to the union’s negotiators for approval or disapproval.
e. Requiring every collective bargaining agreement to include an accurate salary schedule initialed by both City and union representatives.
f. Requiring the city solicitor to play an active role in finalizing each and every collective bargaining agreement.
g. Understanding the financial and legal consequences of all contract terms and providing a written analysis to the City Council in accordance with City Council Resolution #4720, which requires the mayor to present a written contract analysis to the City Council at least 10 days before it votes to approve a contract.
3. The mayor should exercise strong oversight of all department heads, including Chief Solomon. This includes:
a. Carefully considering the findings and recommendations in the upcoming audit of the police department.
b. Conducting an annual performance evaluation of every department head, including Chief Solomon, unless contractually prohibited from doing so. Among other components, the performance evaluation should identify areas for improvement and set measurable goals.
c. Reviewing and approving Chief Solomon’s weekly time records, including defining the chief’s “regular business hours” and tracking his use of leave time.
d. Requiring Chief Solomon to report his compensatory hours to the city auditor for tracking.
e. Reviewing the necessity of any training that Chief Solomon seeks to attend.
f. Reviewing any requested reimbursement associated with any approved training that Chief Solomon attends to ensure that the request is appropriate.
4. The mayor should evaluate all available avenues of discipline against Chief Solomon and Captain Gallant.
5. The City Council must exercise its own due diligence before approving collective bargaining agreements or other contracts. When approving collective bargaining agreements, the due diligence should include:
a. Enforcing City Council Resolution #4720.
b. Independently reviewing the contract for both substance and form.
A more complete discussion of recommendations for the City Council is included in the OIG’s February 2019 letter (see Appendix 1).
Contact for OIG Report 2020: Leadership Failures in Methuen Police Contracts Recommendations
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| Date published: | December 23, 2020 |
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