Who are the defendants? The three Woodstock residents who are commissioners of the Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners (BOFPC) and the sergeant.
What happened in court? The next court date was set for August 15, 2008 at 9:00AM, and Sgt. Gorski's attorney, Tom Loizzo, is to speak with Rich Flood, City Attorney for Woodstock.
This was worth a four-month wait???
The Woodstock City Attorney, Rich Flood, should have been in court, not one of the hired guns who could not commit to anything except the next court date. No wonder our court system is clogged to the breaking point.
If I had been Judge McIntyre, I would have sent Attorneys Flood and Loizzo into a conference room and told them to stay there until they settle. Of course, she couldn't do that because Rich Flood wasn't there. I could be wrong, but I didn't even see an attorney for the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners at the bench after Judge McIntyre called the case.
Last February the Board didn't buy the Chief's charges against Sgt. Gorski. Without even hearing from Sgt. Gorski, the Board ruled 3-0 in favor of Sgt. Gorski and ordered that the charges by Chief Lowen be dismissed. The Board also ordered that Sgt. Gorski was to receive his back pay.
That was February 14, 2008.That was five months ago.
Has the City paid Gorski his back pay? No!
Instead Chief Lowen filed a case in Circuit Court in March, requesting an Administrative Law Hearing.
All that happened today was a "scheduling hearing." The lawyers stood before Judge McIntyre and were to lay a schedule by which the court case started by Chief Lowen will proceed. Instead, they will come back on August 15.
Will the City reinstate Sgt. Gorski, deliver all his back pay (as ordered on February 14 with statutory interest)? Or will they plead for more time?
This is likely to mean months more of wrangling and delay.
The City should pay Gorski his back pay and put him back on the payroll. If he can't work because of work-related back injuries, then he belongs on paid disability status. He walked into court with a cane this morning and moved with extreme care and difficulty. In my opinion, he belongs on desk duty or on the disability list until his agility returns.
The game that the City is playing can bankrupt Sgt. Gorski. Is that its plan? How long could any of us go without a paycheck?
What message is this sending to other police department employees (officers, clerical, telecommunicators)? What message is this sending to ALL Woodstock employees, when the City (the City Manager, the Mayor and the six City Councilpersons, the Human Resources Director) condone this disregard for a decision of its legitimate, appointed Board?
The City Council should tell the City Manager to tell the Human Resources Director to pay Sgt. Gorski. And he ought to get his check on Monday!
© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT
1 comment:
I am so glad that there are people out there who can recognize when someone else is being wronged. There are so many who do not see the whole picture, only focus on the little tidbits and base a foundation of right or wrong on that. Thank you for being fully imformed and interested in this case.
Post a Comment