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Home My WebLink AboutSubmittal-Edward Lugo-Letters to Mayor & CommissionersMIAMI LODGE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE 710 Southwest 12th Avenue. Miami, Florida 33130 Phone (305) 854-5019 info@fopmiami.com Edward Lugo PRESIDENT January 24, 2018 Sent Via Electronic Correspondence Honorable Francis Suarez & Commissioners City of Miami 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, Florida 33133 Dear Mayor Suarez and Commissioners, Roberto Destephan VICE PRESIDENT Submitted into the pubic record fpr itep (s) VZ, ib on 1 / Zs5 / I d . City Clerk Apparently none of you have realized how incompetent the City Attorney's Office has become. You were all told by the City Attorney how you "won" a stay that would prevent FIPO from making payments after the Supreme Court deemed your actions as being illegal. Well, guess what? She just realized that you all hadn't "won" anything and now filed another emergency motion this afternoon with the 3rd District Court of Appeal asking for a stay on FIPO. When her latest antics fail once again, our first responders won't blame her. We will blame YOU for directing her to continue these ridiculous actions. I doubt the Supreme Court will find all of your games amusing by disrespecting the highest court in the State of Florida. I hope that one of you would be a leader and set an executive session to have her withdraw these frivolous motions. Below is the email she sent with the farce of you "winning" anything. Also, I've attached a memo from our attorneys explaining what's really happening. Very truly yours, Edward Lugo, President #WINNING \itti_b\)101sAA,11__L(\via, -e e��\\-t h)\\or ss)of,e‘o Submitted into the public, record fpr itei i(s 7, 6 From: Mendez, Victoria on f 5 City Clerk Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2018 4:13 PM To: VM <victoriamendez@aol.com> Subject: UPDATE: FINANCIAL URGENCY LITIGATION Honorable Mayor and Commissioners, I write to update you on the financial urgency litigation. As you are aware, in October 2017, PERC issued an order finding that the appropriate remedy in the Financial urgency case was for the City to rescind the changes to wages and benefits it imposed after declaring financial urgency in 2010. The order states that the amount of back pay and whether damages may be limited to a certain time period will all be determined in a separate back pay hearing that the PERC clerk is directed to open. That backpay matter has been opened and is now pending before PERC in late February. In the interim, in an abundance of caution, the City appealed that October 2017 PERC order to the Third District Court of Appeal (PERC Remand Order Appeal). The Union moved to dismiss the appeal, arguing that the PERC order was still non -final and non -appealable. The Third District agreed with them and dismissed the City's appeal, without prejudice for the City to appeal at the conclusion of the PERC proceedings. While these appellate proceedings were going on, however, counsel for the Union, who also serves as counsel for the FIPO Pension Trust & Board, advised the FIPO Board that it could make adjusted pension payments to its members based on the October 2017 PERC Order, even though no damages, if any, have been awarded. The City had to take two actions to stop the unawarded pension payments. First, the City filed a separate action in circuit court, seeking an injunction to prevent FIPO from making these disbursements, and an emergency motion for injunctive relief (FIPO Injunction Matter). Following a hearing, on January 8, 2018, the court denied the City's motion for an emergency injunction, and the City has appealed. Second, in the PERC Remand Order Appeal, the City had filed a motion for rehearing, asserting that the FIPO Trust was executing on the PERC Order, which both its counsel and the Court had taken the position was non -final. Alerted to the fact that FIPO intended to make disbursements that very same day, the City filed an emergency motion to stay execution on the October 2017 PERC order with the Third District in the PERC Remand Order Appeal, during the pendency of the Court's consideration of the City's motion for rehearing of the Court's dismissal of its appeal. While awaiting the Court's ruling on that motion, the FIPO Trust made the adjusted disbursements anyway. The next day, on Tuesday, January 9, 2018, the Court issued an order granting a temporary stay of the October 2017 PERC Order, and directing the Union to respond to the issues raised in the City's motion. The stay order will prevent any itr> adjusted payments/disbursements until the Court decides the issues at hand. Both the stay order in e PERC Remand Order Appeal and the order' denying the City's motion for injunction in the FIPO Injunction Matter are attached for your review. Please let us know if you have any questions or require further briefing on this matter. Thank you, Victoria Mendez, City Attorney KLAUSNER KAUFMAN JENSEN LEVINSON. Submitted into the pub .c record ,for i m)(s) �Z on 1/1,5f 0 City Clerk Writer's email: paul clrobertdklausner.com January 18, 2018 Edward Lugo, President Fraternal Order of Police Miami Lodge #20 Dear President Lugo: We have reviewed the City Attorney's memo to the Commission. Sadly, she has misinformed her client. The City sued FIPO to prevent it from restoring benefit formulas lost when the City unlawfully amended the FIPO ordinance in 2010. The Court rejected the City request and has abated further action in that case because the City failed to follow the pre -suit requirements of Chapter 164 Florida Statutes. This law requires mediation between government agencies before suit can be filed. The Court admonished the City for wasting taxpayer dollars by failing to follow the law. The Court also found that the City was the cause of its own problems and that FIPO was properly exercising its independent statutory duty. A copy of that order is attached. The City has appealed and FIPO has moved to abate the appeal under Chapter 164. The City's emergency motion to stay the PERC order only affects the back -pay case scheduled for late February. PERC has already decided the City must make the employees whole. The amount of back wages is all that needs to be decided. FIPO is not a party to the ULP case between the City and the FOP. thus as a result. the 3rd DCA stay of the PERC proceedings has no effect on FIPO. In regards to the underlying case. the Supreme Court found the City violated the Constitution and that order is final. After remand from the Supreme Court and the First DCA, PERC found the City committed an unfair labor practice, and that order is final. All that is left open is the remedy. For nearly 40 years PERC and the Florida courts have required a make whole remedy for failure to bargain unfair labor practices, and to that end. the Commission has opened a back -pay case. As explained in our response to the City's motion for stay PERC's order. FIPO is an independent entity, which is statutorily authorized to make actuarial 7080 NORTHWEST 4TH STREET, PLANTATION, FLORIDA 33317 PHONE: (954) 916-1202 • FAX: (954) 916-1232 www.robertdklausner.com Page 2 Submitted into the publ.c record fir ite (s) Z. \3 on 1! t5Ll` 1 City Clerk calculations. The Commission has no role in that effort. The City has been desperately trying to avoid this nearly $400 million consequence to its ill-advised course of action in 2010. All that the City accomplishes with this continued pattern of delay is to further increase the long term cost to the City. The Supreme Court has made its decision and no amount of wishful thinking by the City is going to change the result. The FOP filed a response to the City emergency motion on Tuesday. A copy is attached. We expect a ruling from the Third DCA in short order. As always, we are pleased to answer any questions. RDK/PAD/yv