De Pere leaders find union charges to be unsubstantiated

By Patti Zarling
pzarling@greenbaypressgazette.com

DE PERE — The city's police union has taken a vote of no confidence in chief Derek Beiderwieden and accused him of everything from lying and cursing to not paying bills and not taking charge during a hostage situation.

Members of the De Pere Police Association packed the room at a City Council meeting Tuesday and urged the council to address issues with the chief.

But city leaders said they reviewed each allegation and found them unsubstantiated. They also said department morale was improving after six months of formal mediation between the police administration and union over the conflict in the department.

The Green Bay Mediation Center led closed sessions with police management, union representatives, Mayor Mike Walsh, city administrator Larry Delo and City Council president Mike Donovan. They ended in early September.

Biederwieden said Thursday he felt frustrated the union brought the issue to the public.

"Some of the things they said were assumptions, insinuations and just not true," Beiderwieden said. "Some of it is ancient history. Some were reviewed by an auditor because they were serious allegations and were found not to be true.

"Some things might be true, but they're not serious."

The mayor agreed, saying nothing rose to the level of grievances.

"We came to an agreement," Walsh said, adding that "as a city we certainly want everyone to get along, but we realize that doesn't always happen."

Acting union president Sgt. Ryan Glime said problems with the chief go as far back as June 2007.

"We asked for a clarification of job descriptions for all administrators," he said. "Bills weren't getting paid. Officers would go to have their tires changed and the tire place would say they need to get paid. We kept asking, 'Who's responsibility is this in this administration?'"

He said the union didn't get a response so they sent a letter to the chief and Delo. The chief then cursed at a sergeant about the letter, Glime said.

That's one of a number of incidences that show poor leadership, he said.

Beiderwieden said the union was searching for a new audience when it approached the council.

"They didn't get what they wanted, so they thought they'd try this," he said. "I feel this is death by a thousand paper cuts. If you throw enough stuff, something will stick … they didn't bring up anything in our earlier meetings, and Tuesday they dropped a bomb."

Glime said the union is debating its next move.

City officials say the union should file a charge with the De Pere Police and Fire Commission if they are displeased rather than bring it to the City Council.

Glime said he received an e-mail from Delo directing him to the state statute concerning police and fire commissions and suggesting the union work with its advisor if members choose to file a charge.

City attorney Judy Schmidt-Lehman said anyone can approach the commission. "Until someone files charges, or alleges some sort of misconduct, no disciplinary action can be taken," she said.

Typically an individual citizen rather than a union would file a charge with a police and fire commission, according to Roger Palek, an attorney for the Wisconsin Professional Police Association. "In general any citizen can file a complaint against an officer or chief," he said. "I suppose if a police officer is a resident of the city he could file a complaint, but the entire union wouldn't do that."

Police sign contracts with cities so labor complaints generally would go to the city, he said, while the commission would consider disciplinary action against a specific employee such as the chief, he said.

If the chief's actions amount to a contract violation, another option would be to file a grievance, Schmidt-Lehman said, which could go to the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.

"The City Council doesn't have any role in removing the police chief," Schmidt-Lehman said.

Meanwhile, Beiderwieden, who has been De Pere's chief since 2002, said at Tuesday's City Council meeting that mediation has improved morale. Police management and union members continue to meet to discuss issues, he said, and he hasn't heard any major complaints. He said Tuesday he thought employees were acting cordially and professionally within the department.

He also is a finalist to become police chief in Beloit and is expected to be interviewed there in mid-November.

"I want to be clear this isn't me running away from anything, this is me running toward a new opportunity," Beiderwieden said.

As the conflict continues, both he and the mayor emphasized the importance of public safety.

"I do want to assure everyone that the department is running smoothly, there's no problems out on the street," Walsh said. "We intend to keep it what way."