Deem v. City of Fairview Park
Decision Date | 10 November 2011 |
Docket Number | No. 96843,96843 |
Citation | 2011 Ohio 5836 |
Parties | RICHARD M. DEEM PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT v. CITY OF FAIRVIEW PARK, ET AL. DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES |
Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
Daniel J. Ryan
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEES
Sara J. Fagnilli
Director of Law
{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant, Richard Deem ("Deem"), appeals the trial court's judgment affirming the Fairview Park Civil Service Commission's decision finding that defendant-appellee, city of Fairview Park ("Fairview" or "the City"), could legally reduce his pay rate pursuant to R.C. 124.37. We find no merit to the appeal and affirm.
{¶ 2} Deem held the position of police captain in the classified service of the City from 1997 until the City abolished the position on April 17, 2006, as a cost-cutting measure. At the time, the City's projected revenues were approximately $1.2 million below its projected expenses. In an effort to balance the City's budget, Mayor Eileen Patton ("Patton") asked each department to cut its budget by 11% through non-personnel related cuts. Mayor Patton testified that she did not want any employees to lose their jobs because layoffs not only affect personnel, but they affect the quality of theCity's services. She was particularly concerned with maintaining adequately staffed police and fire departments to ensure the City's safety.
{¶ 3} At a hearing before the civil service commission, Mayor Patton testified that she met with the three unions representing the police, fire, and service departments, and asked for concessions. She asked the unions to eliminate longevity and the uniform allowance, and to move to a less expensive health care plan. Believing that Mayor Patton was blaming them for the shortfall, the unions rejected these proposals and asked the Mayor to present another plan that would apply equally to both union and non-union employees. Accordingly, Patton proposed an across-the-board 5% pay cut, including her own salary, and a less expensive health care plan. This proposal along with the line item cuts by the department heads would have achieved the goal of a balanced budget without reducing the police force. However, the unions also rejected the 5% across-the-board pay cut.
{¶ 4} Mayor Patton researched how other cities coped with budget problems and learned that none of the surrounding cities of similar size have a captain position in their police departments or an assistant fire chief in their fire departments.1 Patton proposed the idea of eliminating the captainposition to the Police Negotiating Team, as well as to Randy Weltman, the union representative, before introducing it as an ordinance to the city council. She testified that she did not receive any written objection letters from anyone in the police department even though she communicated the proposal to the police chief through memoranda.
{¶ 5} Shortly thereafter, Patton addressed a letter to then-Captain Deem advising him that because of decreases in revenues and increases in expenditures, the police department was being restructured by eliminating the captain position. The captain position was abolished, and Deem was demoted to the position of lieutenant and paid the lieutenant rate set forth in the collective bargaining agreement between the City and the Union.
{¶ 6} The Fairview City Council enacted the ordinance eliminating the captain position on April 17, 2006. Deem alleged that he never received notice of his demotion and pay reduction. Yet he continued to perform the same duties as well as the additional duties as lieutenant and received reduced compensation.
{¶ 7} On December 7, 2007, Deem requested a hearing before the Fairview Park Civil Service Commission, appealing the abolishment of the captain position. The Commission denied the request as untimely, andDeem appealed. On appeal, this court reversed the trial court's judgment affirming the denial and found that because there was no evidence that Deem received notice of the demotion and attendant pay reduction, the City violated his right to due process. Deem v. Fairview Park, Cuyahoga App. No. 93135, 2009-Ohio-6314.
{¶ 8} On remand, the civil service commission held a hearing and concluded that the City was permitted to reduce his pay rate pursuant to R.C. 124.37. Deem appealed to the common pleas court pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2506, which governs administrative appeals. The trial court upheld the commission's ruling. Deem now appeals to this court, raising two assignments of error.
{¶ 9} In Henley v. Youngstown Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 90 Ohio St.3d 142, 147-148, 2000-Ohio-493, 735 N.E.2d 433, the Ohio Supreme Court explained the standard of review appellate courts should apply when reviewing R.C. Chapter 2506 administrative appeals:
{¶ 10} Thus, we review the trial court's judgment to determine if the lower court abused its discretion in deciding that a preponderance of reliable, probative, and substantial evidence supported the administrative decision.
{¶ 11} In his first assignment of error, Deem argues the Fairview Park Civil Service Commission erroneously failed to apply R.C. 124.34(A) and find that the City demoted him without justification. He contends the commission should have applied R.C. 124.34 because it governs the reduction of pay for classified civil servants and no other statutes permit involuntary reductions in pay rate. We disagree.
{¶ 12} R.C. 124.34 governs the reduction, suspension, removal, or demotion of a civil service employee for disciplinary reasons. Smith v. Cincinnati (1993), 85 Ohio App.3d 13, 20, 619 N.E.2d 46, fn.2. R.C. 124.37, however, permits such reductions by demotion when "it becomes necessary * * * through lack of work or funds * * * to reduce the force." McAlpin v. Shirey(1997), 121 Ohio App.3d 68, 75, 698 N.E.2d 1051. R.C. 124.37(A) provides, in pertinent part:
{¶ 13} R.C. 124.321 also allows municipalities to lay off employees or abolish positions for a variety of reasons including a "lack of funds." R.C. 124.321(B); Penrod v. Ohio Dept. of Adm. Servs., 113 Ohio St.3d 239, 2007-Ohio-1688, 864 N.E.2d 79, ¶15-16. R.C. 124.321(B)(2) provides that "a 'lack of funds' means an appointing authority has a current or projected deficiency of funding to maintain current, or to sustain projected, levels of staffing and operations." Further, R.C. 124.321(D) provides:
To continue reading
Request your trial