By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), on behalf of Havre Police officers, have announced that they have have filed a petition against the City of Havre in Hill County District Court.
MFPE says they are asking for the court to enforce a January 2021 arbitration decision that ruled the city did not fulfill all of its contractual obligations for health insurance premiums for its police officers under their collective bargaining agreement.
The grievance was first filed by MFPE in November 2019 concerning “the proper amount of the
City’s contribution for police employee health insurance, specifically those police officers who elect family coverage.”
According to the petition, the impacted Police Officers received reimbursement checks from the City in March 2021, but the Officers believe the amounts were incorrect.
The petition goes on to state that in May 2021, the arbitrator clarified their ruling and required the City to pay the difference “between the amount it paid the affected employees and the
amount of the increase in premiums.”
However, the plaintiffs state that the City has not complied with the decision or appealed the ruling, forcing them to file the petition.
“The recent actions by Havre’s city leaders are not only illegal, they are also just deploarable,” MFPE President Amanda Curtis said in a press release. “By refusing to honor the contract bargained between the city and its police force, city politicians are demonstrating an incredible lack of respect for Montana’s police officers, their families, and our communities. It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this, but the city has left its police officers little choice.”
According to court documents, the City of Havre was given a summons on August 10th and has 21 days to answer the petition.
Mayor Tim Solomon did not respond to a request for comment before publication of this story.
