Santa Paula Police Go On Without Pact

After months of failed talks, Santa Paula police officers will start working without a contract Tuesday, with the police union’s chief negotiator accusing the city of blocking a settlement.

While both sides have said they hoped to avoid the acrimony of past years’ bargaining, negotiator Bill Davis of the Santa Paula Police Officers Assn. said no agreement is in sight, despite talks in the Ventura County city since September.

After rejecting the city’s most recent offer, Davis said he asked for binding arbitration under a state law signed by the governor last year. The city has refused.

“We are not meeting at this point in time,” Davis said. “We have requested that this go to arbitration and they denied that. Unless they cooperate, it leaves us no choice but to pursue whatever it takes to compel them to comply with the law.”

City negotiators could not be reached for comment.

But in a letter to the officers association, City Manager Peter Cosentini said the city will not go for arbitration because it believes the new law is unconstitutional.

“We believe the bargaining dispute between the city and the [union] can and should be resolved through negotiations between the parties,” Cosentini wrote.

In a similar labor dispute, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies also called for arbitration after six months of unsuccessful talks.