§ 11-51-108. Hearing procedures - Special municipal elections - Effective date of agreements.

A.  1.  The arbitration board acting through its chair shall call a hearing to be held within ten (10) days after the date of the appointment of the chair and shall, acting through its chair, give at least seven (7) days’ notice in writing to each of the other two arbitrators, the bargaining agent and the corporate authorities of the time and place of such hearing.

2.  At least seven (7) days before the date of the hearing the corporate authorities and the bargaining agent shall submit to each other and to the arbitration board members a written arbitration statement listing all contract terms which the parties have resolved and all contract issues which are unresolved.  Each arbitration statement shall also include a final offer on each unresolved issue.  The terms and offers contained in the arbitration statements shall be known collectively as each party’s last best offer.

3.  The hearing shall be informal and the rules of evidence prevailing in judicial proceedings shall not be binding.  Any and all documentary evidence and other data deemed relevant by the arbitrators may be received in evidence.  The arbitrators shall have the power to administer oaths and to require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses, the production of books, records, and other evidence relative or pertinent to the issues presented to them for determination.  A hearing shall be concluded within twenty (20) days from the time of commencement.

4.  Within seven (7) days after the conclusion of the hearing, a majority of the arbitration board members shall select one of the two last best offers as the contract of the parties.  The criteria to be used by the board in determining which offer to select shall be limited to paragraphs 1 through 5 of Section 51-109 of this title.  The arbitration board may not modify, add to or delete from the last best offer of either party.  Written notice of the selection decision shall be mailed or delivered to the bargaining agent and the corporate authorities.

B.  If the city’s last best offer is not selected by the arbitration board, that party may submit the offers which the parties submitted to the arbitration board to the voters of the municipality for their selection by requesting a special election for that purpose.  The request for an election must be filed with the clerk of the municipality within ten (10) days of the date of the written decision of the arbitration board.  Written notice of the filing of the request shall be given to the bargaining agent.  If a request for an election is not filed in a timely manner, the board’s selection decision shall be final, and the last best offer it selected shall constitute the agreement of the parties.

C.  Upon receiving a request for an election pursuant to the provisions of this section, the clerk shall notify the mayor and governing body of the request.  Within ten (10) days of such notification the municipal authorities shall call for a special election.  The election shall be governed by the state laws on special municipal elections.  Only residents of the municipality shall be eligible to vote in said election.  The ballot shall inform the voters that they must choose either the last best offer of the bargaining agent or the last best offer of the corporate authorities.  Within twenty (20) days of the date of the decision to call for the election, the municipal authorities and the bargaining agent shall agree on a ballot.  If no agreement is reached within that time, each party shall present a proposed ballot to the arbitration board.  The parties shall present their ballot to the board no later than seven (7) days after the aforementioned twenty-day period.  The board shall consider the proposed ballots and shall select one or the other within seven (7) days of the date of receipt of the parties’ proposed ballots.  The last best offer receiving a majority of the votes shall become the agreement of the parties.

D.  Concerning issues relating to money, such ballot shall clearly state the total dollar amount of the offer from the corporate authority and the total dollar amount of the offer from the bargaining agent.  Such ballot shall also disclose the percentage of increase or decrease both offers have over or under the last contract of the two parties.

E.  Agreements which are reached as a result of selection by the arbitration board or by election shall be effective on the first day of the fiscal year involved regardless of the date of the final selection.

Added by Laws 1977, c. 256, § 51-108, eff. July 1, 1978.  Amended by Laws 1985, c. 148, § 3; Laws 1994, c. 139, § 1; Laws 2000, c. 358, § 1, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2004, c. 126, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2004.