LMPD :: Louisville Metro Police Department
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Louisville plans to appeal ruling in firefighter pay case

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The city of Louisville plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court after a lower court refused to hear arguments over a ruling that it must give a group of about 140 retired Louisville firefighters back pay for miscalculated overtime, a mayoral spokesman said.

The plaintiffs are separate from a group of 834 former and current firefighters who reached a $45 million settlement with the city in November and received the first of three payments in December.

On Friday, the Kentucky Court of Appeals denied a motion from metro government to rehear arguments in the smaller group's lawsuit, which seeks back pay for a 15-year period. The same court previously had ruled that the miscalculation in overtime violated the firefighters' contract.

Ann Oldfather, who represents the smaller group, said her clients, who are retirees, rejected the city's settlement offer last fall because they would have gotten only a fraction of what they were owed.

She said that based on the court's ruling, her clients are entitled to about $15 million and are earning interest "in excess of $5,000 a day" while the dispute lingers.

Chris Poynter, a spokesman for Mayor Jerry Abramson, said metro government will appeal the latest decision to the Kentucky Supreme Court because they believe the contract was not violated.

Metro officials had met Oct. 5 with attorneys for both sets of firefighters, including Oldfather, and offered to settle the dispute, which dates back to a complaint that was filed with the Labor Cabinet in 2000.

Oldfather said she believes the appeals court ruling "affirms the wisdom of settling with the larger group" but that her clients are entitled to resolution as well.

While metro officials move forward with their appeal, metro council members will meet Tuesday to discuss plans for making the remaining payments under the $45 million settlement.

At Tuesday's budget committee meeting, Jane Driskell, director of the metro office of management and budget, is expected to discuss ways to make the settlement payments of $14.3 million by March 31 and $14.9 million by July 15.

The Abramson administration has recommended issuing bonds to make the payments, but some council members have raised the possibility of using money from savings - or the rainy day fund - which has about $65 million available.

Abramson has said he would like to avoid tapping that account because it could have a negative impact on the city's bond rating, which determines the amount of interest the city pays on the sale of bonds.

Besides the $45 million, metro government also will have to pay additional money to cover employer costs, such as hazardous duty pension and Social Security taxes.

Poynter said it is unclear how much that could add to the final total because metro officials are awaiting information from the state to calculate the amount owed.