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Minutes - San Leandro City Council Meeting - March 5, 1992 Page - 7 - PUBLIC HEARINGS (continued) Mayor Karp asked for rebuttals. Austris Rungis said the time constraints under which this process worked are those set out by California statute. He said there are times when we have to forego all types of activities to get the job done. He said there was plenty of time. He said he has worked with police officers when they have to work swing shift and has done negotiations at 1:00 in the morning. He said if we are interested in resolving the issues, we will find time to do so. He said he does not feel there is a philosophical change in what the City proposed. He said it is possible there was a perception on the part of some of Mr. Burdick's clients that this was a "poison pill ." He said the measure proposes that, in the event the arbitrator does something that doesn't make economic sense to the employer and causes an economic burden, regardless-.of—the..amount.,_the_taxpayers..and ,voters„have„antopportunity to review the issue. He said it is not taking away anything from the City Council . He said the issue is last, best, final offer, and this means the City Council has done its best, it does not have any more money. Mr. Rungis spoke regarding the MERO failing to appear. He said there have only been two impasses in San Leandro, and they have both been handled by Mr. Tarver and himself, in the same way as the Wednesday meeting was handled. He said no MERO has ever shown up at that particular meeting. He said the Employer Employees Relations Act does not ask for attendance by the MERO; it only requires that he schedule the meeting. He said the time frame is not a result of poor planning, but a result of facing a deadline. Mr. Rungis said that, according to Mr. Burdick, the POA and FFA are concerned they don't have an opportunity to vote on the City's proposal . Mr. Rungis said they will have an opportunity to express their views when the matter is on the ballot. He said he doesn't see anything injurious to them in the proposal . Mr. Rungis said San Leandro was one of the first cities to put something related to grievance arbitration into the labor contract and that is the public policy Mr. Burdick is talking about. He said there have been opportunities at the State level to introduce interest arbitration into the Meyers, Millias, Brown provisions, but the Legislature has not found it appropriate to do so. He said the two types of arbitration should not be confused. Mr. Rungis said the letter and spirit of meet and confer were met. He said he and Mr. Tarver did everything in their power to provide an opportunity for full discourse on all the issues that needed to be heard. He said they offered to meet evenings and weekends. He said they were not limited by six working days. He said a little bit of forthcoming on the other side would have been appreciated.