CONCORD — The New Hampshire Supreme Court last week unanimously denied the appeal of the Laconia Patrolman Association (LPA) of the ruling of the Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) that absolved the Police Commission of engaging in unfair practices in the course of contract negotiations in 2010.
Prior to the exportation of collective bargaining agreement in June 2010, the association and the commission reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. After incorporating recommendations of City Manager Eileen Cabanel, both parties ratified the agreement, which was submitted to city council in February. The council objected to certain provisions and requested a revised draft, but did not take a vote until October, when it rejected the cost items.
Meanwhile, in June, after learning the council sought a $35,000 reduction in the Police Department budget, the commission voted to grant step raises to eligible officers that would become effective on July 1, after the expiration of the contract. paid after the contract expired. When the council countered by voting to trim $100,000 from the department budget, the commission rescinded its vote granting the step raises.
The LPA appealed to the PELRB, charging that the commission failed to ensure that the council voted on the agreement within the 30 days prescribed by law, bargained in bad faith by acquiescing in the council's interference with negotiations and committed an unfair labor practice by rescinding the step raises.
In ruling against the association, the PELRB found that the commission had no authority to compel the council to vote on the agreement. Likewise, the board held that claims that the council improperly interfered with contract negotiations could not be lodged against the commission. Finally, the PELRB ruled that the commission was not bound to provide step raises and was entitled to withhold them, since as cost items they would require the council's approval, which was clearly not forthcoming.
In an opinion written by Justice Jim Bassett, the court upheld each of the three rulings by PELRB. They agreed that there is nothing in statute to require a public employer, in this case the Police Commission, to ensure that the legislative body votes in a timely manner. Moreover, there is no evidence to suggest that the commission encouraged the council not to vote within 30 days. Nor is there evidence indicating that the commission enabled or allowed the council to encroach on on its bargaining authority.
The justices also agreed the commission was entitled to rescind the step raises, but not because they required the approval of the council. Instead, they explained that when a collective bargaining agreement expires, both parties are bound to maintain the "status quo," or "conditions under which employees worked." But, the status quo does not require payment of step raises, which may or may not be granted at the discretion of the employer.
The LPA argued that the commission, having granted the increases, should have submitted them to the council. The court, however, noted that only cost items must be submitted to the legislative body for its approval and a cost item is defined as "any benefit acquired through collective bargaining. Since the step raises were not the result of collective bargaining, the justices rules that the commission was at liberty to rescind them and not obliged to present them to the council.

LACONIA — Former mayor and government watchdog Tom Tardif has brought suit in Belknap County Superior Court challenging the election of the current officers of the Belknap County Convention by secret ballot.
In a petition filed last week, Tardif and David Gammon, representing themselves, charge that the election of Representatives Colette Worsman (R-Meredith) as chairman and Bob Greemore (R-Meredith) as vice-chairman at the organizational meeting on December 10 was "a clear attempt to circumvent the States Right-To-Know laws."
Citing the minutes, Tardif notes that when the organizational meeting convened "a senior member referred to a case from 1971 and indicated that the election of officers should be done by secret ballot." By a show of hands all 16 members of the convention present concurred. Worsman and Greemore were elected by a secret paper ballot.
Tardif claims that the Right-to-Know Law (RSA 91-A) includes no exception for secret ballots, but on the contrary stipulates that "Except for town meetings, school district meetings, and elections, no vote while in open session may be taken by secret ballot."
Tardif said yesterday that he reluctantly filed suit after raising the issue with the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, which declined to offer a legal opinion on the matter.
The "senior member" was Representative Don Flanders (R-Laconia) acting on the advice of the N.H. House Clerk Karen Wadsworth, who relied on an advisory opinion of the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued in 1971.
The opinion was a response to questions posed by the New Hampshire House of Representatives about the constitutionality of a bill that would have required the Speaker of House to be elected by a roll call vote. The justices explained that Part II, Article 22 of the Constitution grants the members of the House the exclusive right to determine the manner of electing the Speaker. Therefore, they ruled, that this prerogative cannot be subject to the will of the Senate, which would have to vote on the legislation, or "governed or abridged" by statute.
Tardif insists that the court's opinion does not bear on the election of officers of a county convention. "The advisory opinion is not generic but specific to the Speaker of the House of Representatives," he writes. Remarking that neither the Constitution nor the opinion expressly prohibit a roll call vote for Speaker, he emphasizes that "the Right-To-Know law forbids secret paper ballots."
Claiming that the organizational meeting was conducted improperly, Tardif challenges the legitimacy of the remainder of the meeting of December 10, which included a public hearing on the 2013 county budget, as well as the actions taken at subsequent meetings of the county convention.
Tardif has asked the court to find that the convention failed to comply with the Right-To-Know Law and order it to reconvene an organizational meeting in accordance with the statute.
With 16 members present and voting, Worsman topped Representative Frank Tilton (R-Laconia) to claim the chairmanship by a margin of nine-to-seven. The partisan makeup of the current convention is 12 Republicans and 6 Democrats. One of each was missing on the night of the election.
In 2008 Tardif joined Gilford political activist Doug Lambert in challenging the convention's secret ballot election of Craig Wiggin to fill the vacant county sheriff's position. That case went all the way to the NH. Supreme Court, which decided in the plaintiff's favor in a landmark Right-to-Know ruling.

BELMONT — Fire Chief Dave Parenti told selectmen last night that the Town of Sanbornton is not interested in moving forward with a plan to reopen the Winnisquam Fire Station.
Parenti said he met with Sanbornton Fire Chief Paul Dexter and Tilton-Northfield Fire Chief Brad Ober and learned that while Ober supported it, Dexter didn't.
That report was enough to prompt veteran Selectmen Jon Pike and Ron Cormier to say enough is enough; they want to hear no more about reopening the station.
Parenti told selectmen that Dexter told him that if he was going to spend any money he wanted it to be of benefit to his entire community and not just one portion.
Last week, Dexter said the same thing in a telephone interview and has already made his report to the Sanbornton Board of Selectmen, who agreed with him. Dexter also said that with the improvements to Hunkins Pond Road, response times to the east part of the town had improved.
Ober said last week he favored reopening the Winnisquam Station in some form. Ober along with the Tilton-Northfield Fire Commissioners, met with the Belmont selectmen last fall and that meeting prompted Belmont to ask Parenti to look into the station again.
The original intent of the meeting was to discuss the Lake Winnisquam fire boat and the discussion evolved in to a discussion about the Winnisquam Station. Cormier said the Sanbornton selectmen weren't invited to the Belmont meeting because they had already said no to helping Belmont pay for the fire boat.
As to reopening Winnisquam, Ober he said his "motivations are selfish — if we can revitalize staffing out of that station, I would be comfortable expanding Park Street with administration."
Of the three, Ober is faced with the dilemma of having two fire stations almost next to each other. Central Station is in Tilton proper and is in rough condition. Park Street station is in Northfield — about a five minute walk away — and is in much better physical shape but is not big enough to accommodate the offices, personal quarters and equipment needed by the district.
In addition, many of the residents of the Lochmere or eastern side of Tilton have long wanted a fire station that is to the east of the Interstate 91 exchange (Exit 20) which many say further slows response times to that part of town.
Parenti and Ober both said they told Dexter that if Belmont and Tilton-Northfield went forward with a 50-50 split, then there would be no automatic response from the combined station to incidents in Sanbornton. Parenti said Dexter agreed to that.
Automatic response differs from mutual aid in that some communities automatically respond to certain calls without being specifically requested through mutual aid. An example is Laconia, Belmont, and Gilford all automatically respond to a fire call at Lakes Region General Hospital. Conversely if there is a fire in Laconia, only Laconia responds unless the incident commander requests assistance from a second or third community.
As for the Belmont selectmen, Pike and Cormier have been dealing with the Winnisquam Station since the independent/volunteer fire company that operated out of it dissolved about seven years ago, this is the last time either man wants to hear about it.
Both Pike and Cormier said any arrangement in Winnisquam should be all three-or-nothing — a sentiment echoed by Pike who said he knows the nature of firefighters and first responders and they'll jump in to help if they see smoke in Sanbornton whether they are supposed to or not.
Pike also explained that Sanbornton's refusal to participate in Winnisquam reflects his issue with Belmont buying a rescue boat and Sanbornton's refusal to participate in its cost. He said many of the calls in that area are to the sandbar on Lake Winnisquam that is technically on Sanbornton's side of the lake.
He explained that the Belmont rescue boat team brought back to life a man who nearly drowned this past summer in an accident on the sandbar and "Sanbornton wasn't any where to be found."
For Cormier the issue is exasperating. "We said we'd listen one more time. I'm done. It's not worth my breath anymore," he said.
Parenti said when he met with Dexter and Ober he told them it was the last time he was going to discuss as well.
Cormier told Town Administrator Jeanne Beaudin that if she got calls about the Winnisquam Station from any residents of any of the other three communities she was to direct them back to their own representatives.