Res 2023-121R/Approving a meet and confer agreement between the San Marcos professiona Firefighters association local #3963 and the city of San Marcos.

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2023-2026 Meet and Confer Agreement Between the San Marcos Professional Firefighters Association and the City of San Marcos, Texas Step 4. Either Party shall have the right to seek mediation of the dispute by requesting same within fourteen (14) days from the date of delivery of the City Manager's or his designee's decision. The mediation shall proceed before a mutually agreed mediator or a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. If the representatives have not been successful in resolving the issue within sixty (60) days, the matter may proceed to arbitration if agreed in writing by both the City and the Association. If arbitration is not mutually agreed to by both the City and the Association, the matter may proceed as provided for under section 142.114(c) of the Texas Local Government Code. Section 3. Arbitration If arbitration is mutually agreed to by the City and the Association, the Parties agree that either or both can request a list of seven (7) arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association within seven (7) days of mediation, and once received, the Parties shall strike names from the list until a single name remains. The party that brings the grievance shall strike first. That person shall be appointed arbitrator for the dispute unless the arbitrator fails or is unable to hear the matter in which case a new list will be requested and the process repeated. The arbitration should be held at the earliest available date, but may be continued for good cause shown or upon mutual agreement. The conduct of the hearing shall be governed by the standard rules of the American Arbitration Association Labor Disputes The hearing shall be held in available facilities of the City of San Marcos and shall be conducted informally, without strict evidentiary or procedural rules. The arbitrator shall consider and decide only the issue(s) timely submitted in the dispute statement or by written agreement of the Parties. The hearing shall be concluded as expeditiously as possible and the arbitrator's written decision shall be based on a preponderance of evidence within thirty (30) days after close of the hearing. Section 4. Decision Final and Binding If arbitration is selected, the Parties specifically agree that the arbitrator's authority shall be strictly limited to interpreting and applying the explicit provisions of this Agreement. The City has agreed to use of an arbitration on the additional agreement by the Association that legal issues which are determinative in the dispute are subject to judicial review. The arbitrator shall not have authority to add to, amend, modify, or subtract from the provisions of this agreement in arriving at his decision on the issue or issues timely submitted and shall confine his decision to the interpretation of this Agreement. The Parties agree that neither the City nor the Association shall have ex parte communications with the arbitrator concerning any matter involved in the grievance submitted to the arbitrator. Each Party shall be responsible for its own expenses in preparing for and representing itself at arbitration, but the fees of the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the Parties. The written decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on both Parties and may not be appealed by either Party, except for any decision procured by fraud, collusion, or unlawful means, or which exceeds the arbitrator's jurisdiction or which is based on legal conclusions or interpretations which are clearly contrary to existing law. Section S. Mutual Extension All deadlines within this article may be waived or extended by written mutual agreement by the Parties. Failure to adhere to the time limit at Step 1 shall result in the matter being considered satisfied and no further action shall be taken. If the last day of any time period herein falls on a Saturday, Sunday or City holiday, the time period will be extended to the next business day. Page 22