Cape Elizabeth’s town manager made an uncharacteristic move when he publicly addressed the Town Council about deteriorating contract negotiations Monday night.

Until now, Town Manager Mike McGovern has discussed the ongoing negotiations with councilors in closed sessions only.

For the past month, however, union members have been publicly critical of McGovern’s actions in negotiations and what they perceive as the town’s unwillingness to make concessions. McGovern said he wanted to correct inaccuracies that have appeared in the local media.

Dorval called into question McGovern’s motives as well as the legitimacy of his claims in a column published in the Current Jan. 5. The editorial accused McGovern of “drag(ging) out negotiations.”

Negotiations stalled over retirement benefits in July. The union requested the town buy them back into the Maine State Retirement System with a 25-year, 50-percent pay plan. The town refused. McGovern instead offered to increase contributions into their personal retirement plan from 7 to 10 percent. The two parties have been unable to bridge this gap, and negotiations turned into a dispute after it became apparent to the union that their requested mediation had failed.

Council Chairman David Backer said the council requested McGovern address them publicly as opposed to a closed executive session because of what McGovern claims are inaccuracies in newspaper coverage. “There was enough misinformation in the public domain that Mike set the record straight,” said Backer.

McGovern drew up written arguments based on a set of questions posed by Councilor Anne-Swift Kayatta. Town Councilor Mike Mowles said he was surprised at McGovern’s decision to address the dispute publicly, but supported it. Mowles agreed with Backer that McGovern’s action was driven by what he characterized as misrepresentation of the negotiations in local newspaper coverage.

“He was just trying to inform the citizens and set the record straight,” said Mowles.

In his letter, Dorval said the town is wasting money on mediation and lawyers, but McGovern pointed out that the union requested mediation. The town and the union split the cost of mediation and arbitration, each contributing $1,844.

The union is angry McGovern has hired a lawyer to conduct further negotiations because union members believe it is wasting taxpayers’ money that could instead be used to buy them back into Maine State Retirement.

McGovern has said the cost of buying back into the Maine State Retirement System is too expensive. The start-up cost would be $750,000, and then the town would pay 12.6 percent of employee wages into the plan for the first three years. After that, the town would pay 7.3 percent of employee wages into the plan.

The union contends the town could defray the start-up cost with a $600,000 account surplus. The union left the Maine State Retirement System in 1994, but still has an account. McGovern said the surplus does not really exist because it must be used to pay the benefits of other employees enrolled in the Maine State Retirement System.

McGovern has negotiated on behalf of the town unaided by an attorney up until this point, he said, whereas the union has been represented by an attorney during each negotiation session.

Dorval and Cape Detective Paul Fenton, also a member of the negotiation team, said they need a lawyer to conduct negotiations because of their inexperience. Otherwise, they said, with McGovern’s experience, he could “out negotiate” them.

The Maine Association of Police pays the union’s attorney expenses as well as the union’s half of mediation costs, said Dorval. “We use our own money (from dues),” said Dorval, “We don’t pay that with town money.” Cape Elizabeth taxpayers pay the cost of the town’s lawyer.

In his written responses to Swift-Kayatta’s questions, several of Dorval’s allegations were addressed. Dorval stated in his Jan. 5 letter that the recent decrease in non-union employee healthcare coverage would affect the police union. Both he and Fenton contend McGovern has repeatedly requested the union switch to this plan.

Last month the Town Council approved a decrease in non-union healthcare coverage from 100 percent to 90 percent. McGovern said he will ask the union to join this plan, but at a later date.

Dorval also said McGovern showed little interest in inviting a representative for the Maine State Retirement System to address the council. In an interview, McGovern said the town held a meeting with a representative from Maine State Retirement last May. The Town Council attended, and all town employees were invited. No police union representatives attended, said McGovern.

McGovern is making allegations of his own, stating the union is using the media to negotiate the contract, rather than negotiating “at the table.”

That’s not how union members perceive their actions, however. For them, it’s a means of communicating with the public. “It’s up to us to educate them about why we’re working without a contract…This is our way to get the word out to the taxpayers of Cape,” said Fenton.

McGovern met with union lawyer William McKinley the day before Thanksgiving, but since then there has been no further contact between the parties. Prior to that there were seven meetings from March 22 to Oct. 11, including mediation and arbitration. Both sides contend they are waiting to hear from the other. The union has requested negotiations move to fact-finding.

Mark Dorval