By Josh Mitchell
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The local firefighters union has sued the city, claiming that contract proposals were made public illegally.
The proposals released by the city several months ago were confidential and should not have been given to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, the union says.
The proposals were from negotiations between the city and the union over the new firefighters contract.
“As a matter of law, such negotiations must be confidential and not open to the public and as a result such negotiations must be done in an executive session in which all proceeding(s), including proposals and counterproposals, are confidential,” the union’s lawsuit says.
But city attorney Dan White said the proposals for the city and union are public records under state law. In the proposals, the firefighters had requested raises that were not granted after the final contract was reached.
According to the city’s response, the two parties agreed to negotiation ground rules that stated, in part:
“Any documents exchanged by the parties during negotiations shall be subject to disclosure to the extent required by law, including, without limitation, the Wyoming Public Records Act.”
Under state law, meetings may be closed to the public “to consider accepting or tendering offers concerning wages, salaries, benefits and terms of employment during all negotiations,” the union says.
But the city responds that an executive session was never even considered for the contract negotiations.
The city says firefighters must bring the WTE into the lawsuit under state law.
Taking the matter to court without the WTE could hurt the newspaper’s interests of obtaining future public records, the city’s response says.
The WTE agrees that it should be allowed to intervene in the case.
“What led to this was that the city did release offers and counteroffers to the newspaper,” said Bruce Moats, the WTE’s attorney in the case.
Moats said the proposals released by the city were a public record.
The newspaper has filed a motion to intervene, saying, “The public, including members of the media, has a constitutional and statutory right of access to information in the hands of its government.
“The newspaper will continue to seek offers and counteroffers in the future and would contest any future denial of access to those records.”
But the union says the newspaper should not be allowed to intervene. It says the matter only involves labor negotiations between the city and the firefighters.
“If you follow the reasoning of Cheyenne Newspapers Inc., all members of the public and every newspaper would be an indispensible party, which clearly is not the case,” the union’s lawsuit states.
The union’s attorney, Julie Nye Tiedeken of Cheyenne, did not return a call seeking comment.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that proposals exchanged during contract negotiations are confidential and cannot be produced without a court order. The court may also impose other measures that it deems necessary, the lawsuit adds.
Copyright 2012 Cheyenne Newspapers, Inc.