Counsel for the city of Butler is denying that the former Butler City Police Chief and Deputy Chief are owed anything in regards to back pay for unused vacation and compensation time.
On Wednesday, now-retired Butler City Police Chief Ron Brown and Deputy Police Chief Dave Adam filed lawsuits against the city demanding payment for lost compensation time, pensions and personal days. Combined, the two men allege the city owes them more than $60,000.
City Solicitor Tom Breth disagrees.
“Before the men resigned, there were performance-related issues that were being dealt with,” Breth said in an interview Thursday. “The mayor and I met with both men and there was a conversation that occurred in respect to the performance issues. Part of that discussion was the discussion of their rights to either be demoted or retire. They chose to retire.”
In the lawsuits, both Brown and Adam allege they met with Breth on July 26, 2018 and were promised they would receive compensation for comp time, which was awarded instead of overtime pay when the men worked more than 40 hours in one week, as well as payment for unused sick hours, holiday and vacation days.
“Brown and Adam would not have retired as police chief and deputy chief if not for the promise from Mr. Breth,” according to the lawsuits.
“That’s categorically false,” Breth said. “We met with them but they weren’t promised anything.”
The two men allege they were individually handed sheets of paper that detailed how the city of Butler calculated how much the men were owed for unused holiday, sick and vacation days, according to the suits.
“There were sheets, but what they are alleging was on them is not true,” Breth said.
Butler Radio reported that last summer, Butler Mayor Ben Smith placed both Brown and Adam on administrative leave in response to a no-confidence vote taken by the city police union. At the time, the union, which represents city officers, issued a statement saying the vote was taken because of a lack of leadership, poor decision making, a lack of strategy in addressing criminal activity in the city, and a lack of cooperation with the media.”
Both men then subsequently retired.
Jury trials have been demanded in both lawsuits.
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