`plain Joe' Veterans Deserve Respect 
In Response To The Editorial Other Opinion (nov. 27), As A Two-tour Vietnam 
Veteran Serving With The United States Marine Corps, I'm Tired Hearing Of Only 
The Homeless, Hungry, Alone-on-the-street Vietnam Veteran.

Airport Tower Evacuated Due To Odor

By MELISSA M. DONOVAN; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Saturday, December 06, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE- In August 1996, Mayor Tom McGroarty said he would hire
civilians to enforce parking rules, freeing higher-paid police from a task
that takes 8,000 hours each year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 More than a year later, the city is paying thousands in legal fees to fight
two union challenges of the stalled plan. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Instead of paying new employees, the city has paid Philadelphia lawyers a
total of $8,331 in 10 months. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The legal bills are an unexpected headache but a good investment, McGroarty
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lawyers billed for 59.7 hours between Dec. 2, 1996, and mid-September,
according to bills from Montgomery, McCracken, Walker &amp; Rhoads. Charles
Ercole, who handles most of the city's labor issues, charges $140 an hour.
Other lawyers from that firm charged between $115 and $150 an hour. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McGroarty might have avoided a costly fight if he had approached the union
before announcing his plans, said officer Ed Soltis, president of the Police
Benevolent Association. He would not say how much the union paid Wilkes-Barre
attorney Richard Goldberg to fight the union's battle. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's a lot of money that was wasted on the city's part when all they had
to do was sit down at the bargaining table," Soltis said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The union filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the Pennsylvania
Labor Relations Board on Oct. 7, 1996. Soltis argues that officers' duties
can't be changed unless the city negotiates those changes into the contract. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In September, the board said the union acted prematurely because the
employees haven't been hired yet. The union plans to act once they are hired,
Soltis said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The police union's challenge accounts for $5,891 of the city's total legal
bill. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Soltis, the only officer assigned to write tickets full-time, says taking
away his ticket pad wouldn't help the force. He's patrolling the streets and
responding to emergencies while writing tickets, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We don't believe that a police officer should be replaced by civilian
personnel," Soltis said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In a way, hiring civilian employees is like hiring more cops at a lower
cost, McGroarty said. Freeing officers from parking enforcement would give the
officers 8,000 hours a year for other duties, Chief William Barrett estimated
in September. That's the equivalent of 4.3 full-time officers. "It will be
dramatic," McGroarty said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McGroarty wants to hire three full-time and three part-time meter-readers.
Full-time workers would be paid $15,900- half the starting salary of a police
officer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A $98,252 federal grant would help pay for the proposed Bureau of Parking
Enforcement. McGroarty included $158,034 for the new bureau in his 1998
budget. That includes $39,500 for several hand-held computers to speed
information about cars to workers writing tickets. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A different claim by another union is also costing the city legal fees.
Public Service Employees Local 1300 argues that it should represent the
proposed employees. The police union also claims the jobs. Local 1300 asked
the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to decide. The city has spent $2,440 on
fees related to the unions' dispute. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McGroarty grouses about the cost of legal battles with unions. But he's
confident the fight is worthwhile. He said he picked Montgomery, McCracken
because of its expertise in labor issues. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The firm worked for former Mayor Lee Namey and has represented the
Pennsylvania League of Cities, Philadelphia and Hazleton. Its fees are
comparable to what local labor lawyers charge, McGroarty said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although there are added expenses for out-of-town lawyers, they have been
small. The bills include $117 for phone calls and $77 for travel related to
the parking issue. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There is no way of singling out how much the city has spent on
long-distance phone calls regarding the union challenges. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

W-b Legal Meter Runs As Dispute With Cops Lingers 
Mayor Tom Mcgroarty Wants To Hire 
Civilians To Monitor Parking Meters So 
Cops Can Perform Other Duties, But Police 
Union Balks At Plan

W-b Legal Meter Runs As Dispute With Cops Lingers Mayor Tom Mcgroarty Wants To Hire Civilians To Monitor Parking Meters So Cops Can Perform Other Duties, But Police Union Balks At Plan