SHEFFIELD — They don’t want more money. They just want job security, firefighters and police officers told village council members Wednesday night, asking to be recognized as unions.

“It’s about sick time. It’s about call-out time. It’s about being treated fairly,” said Mark Palmer, president of the Sheffield Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. “It’s not about money.”

Firefighter Jason Strah, who is also secretary of the proposed village firefighter’s union, said there’s no point asking officials for money that isn’t in the budget.

There’s no extra money to be had, especially in the face of a $110,000 jump in gas, heating, insurance and other operating costs next year, Mayor John Hunter said.

At the same time, Sheffield is suffering as layoffs and foreclosures cut off tax income, Hunter said. Revenue dropped $78,000 last year and another $222,000 this year — and it’s projected to fall another $150,000 to $175,000 next year, he said.

“We are in a budget crisis here where we are already asking our police and fire departments to operate with $100,000 less each than they did last year just to balance the budget,” he said.

Hunter clashed with Councilman Ron Forster, who urged immediate unionization.

“You’re beating it to death — the financial end of it — instead of looking at the positives a union can do for these employees,” Forster said during a heated exchange.

But Hunter said he can’t support unionization if it’s going to leave Sheffield deeper in debt and unable to care for its residents, even though he’s a former United Auto Workers leader and now serves as leader of the Lorain County Labor Council.

Police Chief Mike Gurich said Sheffield officers aren’t paid nearly as much as their counterparts in surrounding cities, but they are just as busy. He said some of his officers doubt the village is as cash-strapped as officials say, and they want a third party to see how much money is there.

If Sheffield recognizes unions, the village could have to sign contracts with six different bargaining groups for police, fire, streets and other employee groups, Hunter said.

Law Director Tom Smith said forging each contract could cost as little as $5,000 or as much as $30,000, depending on how long negotiations last. Under Ohio law, only cities with 5,000 or more residents have to recognize unions, Smith said. Sheffield has about 3,500 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hunter said he talked with mayors and union heads in Cuyahoga Heights, Valley View and Richfield — all of which chose not to recognize unions.

He said that in each case, residents used petitions to get unionization on the ballot, and in all three cities, voters supported the unions by 75 to 85 percent.

The village also has to decide what to do about its ordinance book, which doesn’t include any rules about how to pay employees.

Hunter said nothing in the rules instructs officials on how to make payouts, who gets holiday pay or even what holidays to formally recognize.

That must all be fixed before next year, when Sheffield undergoes a state audit, Hunter said.

Contact Jason Hawk at 329-7148 or jhawk@chroniclet.com.

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