The Lewes Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 22 filed its complaint over the summer, submitting a vote of no confidence in Lewes City Manager Ellen McCabe following promotion decisions within the police department without consultation.
Under the agreement reached, officers promoted will return to their original positions and compensation, and a new process will be introduced to decide police department promotions.
Tim Mullaney Senior, Division of Labor Services Representative with the National Fraternal Order of Police, says the agreement speaks to the effectiveness of the FOP.
“Any time you have an organized voice for any type of employee I think it’s always constructive to be able to speak as one.” he told DPM. “In the spirit of cooperation, we [found] out ways that we could deal with, specifically, the grievance, as well as the morale of the police department.”
Lewes Mayor Amy Marasco says the deal between the town and the police department shows a commitment to following procedure in the promotion process.
“I believe that builds trust, so that should any issue in the future come up, before it gets escalated to the level of a grievance, perhaps the problem could be addressed.” she said.
Decisions surrounding new promotions have yet to be made, but Marasco points out police officers returned to previous positions are still eligible to be re-promoted. She also noted that are plans to discuss potential compensation for the affected officers in the future, but no details are available at this time.
