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Lucas County sheriff walks out on budget hearing after dispute with county commissioner

Sheriff Mike Navarre walked out of the meeting after he claimed commissioners President Pete Gerken violated labor practices by asking him about personnel matters.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre walked out of a budget hearing with the board of county commissioners on Tuesday after verbally sparring with board President Pete Gerken and accusing him of participating in an unfair labor practice.

Navarre took issue when Gerken asked him if employees' raises were factored into the collective bargaining agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police.

The sheriff refused to answer the question, claiming Gerken was breaking the law by discussing personnel matters in a public meeting.

"Discussing wages in contract negotiations in this setting is perceived to be interference by the commissioners and it's an unfair labor practice and I am not going to participate in it," Navarre said during the meeting.

Navarre, in a statement provided to WTOL 11 after the meeting, said he submitted the Lucas County Sheriff's Office's budget in August and did not reach and agreement with the FOP until Oct. 1. But county commissioners rejected that agreement last week.

The county commissioners in a statement said they are "committed to a transparent, public discussion with all entities that receive funding" and invited the sheriff to next week's budget meeting to "pick up where we left off today."

The current contract expires at the end of the year.

Full statements from both parties are below.

Navarre said:

"Contract negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) began in early July, 2024, with the full knowledge and consent of the County Commissioners. I was promised an economic proposal from the Commissioners for several weeks. On September 24, I was informed that no proposal would be forthcoming and that they wanted me to delay completion of negotiations to the end of the year. The contract expires on December 31. On September 30, I sent a memo to all three Commissioners explaining why their request was not feasible. My memo was ignored. I proceeded with negotiations and reached a tentative agreement with the FOP on October 1, which was subsequently approved by their membership. The Commissioners rejected the agreement on November 5. The next step under Ohio Bargaining Law is a hearing before a Factfinder, who will then make a recommendation that the Commissioners or the FOP can reject. If either side rejects the Factfinders report, the final step is Binding Conciliation.

In today’s meeting, all three Commissioners took exception to the fact the 2025 employee raises were not included in our budget requests. It should be noted that our 2025 budget was submitted in August and the Agreement with the FOP was not reached until October 1. Additionally, my financial staff and I were given specific instruction not to estimate employee wages, and that they would be added later.

Prior to today’s budget hearing, I anticipated questions concerning contract negotiations. Thus, I consulted our labor attorney who advised me that it would be inappropriate to discuss negotiations in a public setting as it could be perceived as “interference” by the Commissioners and could constitute an “Unfair Labor Practice”. I informed the Commissioners of this fact during the hearing to no avail. They continued to ask questions, leaving me no choice but to leave the hearing prior to its conclusion."

The county commissioners said:

"We are disappointed the Sheriff chose not to stay for his full budget hearing today. The Sheriff’s Office is the largest departmental budget in Lucas County’s general fund, and any increase over his 2024 budget level will have a county-wide impact. At the beginning of this year’s budget process, the Board of Lucas County Commissioners directed all departments and agencies to keep their 2025 budgets flat as we face a revenue shortfall. We are committed to a transparent, public discussion with all entities that receive funding, and we welcome the Sheriff or his representative to join us at next week’s budget hearings and pick up where we left off today."

You can watch the full meeting here.

The Fraternal Order of Police on Wednesday issued a press release urging commissioners "to take immediate action" to make wages for LCSO deputies more competitive and fix what it says is critical understaffing at the county jail.

The full press release can be read below:

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