Appeals court tells city of Troy to go to arbitration with PBA

The state's Appellate Division has unanimously denied two appeals by the city of Troy in its attempt to avoid arbitration with its largest police union over promotions, making this the second time the city has lost in court in each case.

The Appellate Division of the Third Department on Thursday upheld state Supreme Court Justice Henry Zwack’s rulings from July 16, 2019, and Sept. 11, 2019, finding that the city’s delay in filling a captain’s position and in promotions for sergeant were subject to arbitration.

The Troy Police Benevolent Association is seeking back pay for officers who applied for positions that were not filled within 30 days of becoming vacant. The city eventually filled the captain post.

Looking at the question of filling the captain’s post, the justices wrote, “Although the clause would allow petitioner to eliminate an open captain position and thereby save the expenses related to that position, petitioner has bargained away its ability to keep the position as a line item in the budget but not fill it when it becomes vacant. This partial limit on a municipality's power to control its budget, which limit was voluntarily agreed upon in the (collective bargaining agreement), is not against public policy.”

In the second appeal, the justices cited their ruling in the captain promotion case.

Officer Nick Laviano, who is PBA president, welcomed the recent court rulings as upholding the contractual agreements. The PBA represents the police department’s patrol officers, sergeants and detectives.

“Once again the frivolous lawsuits the city keeps filing against the PBA have shown to be a complete waste of taxpayer dollars,” Laviano said Friday.

“These stays of arbitration are unnecessary. We look forward to resolving it expeditiously in front of an arbitrator,” Laviano said.

John Salka, a spokesman for Mayor Patrick Madden, said, "The central issue of the litigation is a disagreement over the venue in which the matter should be heard. The city is currently assessing its options and has no further comment at this time."