You asked what the town meeting's role is in the mediation and arbitration process for municipal employees and teachers.

The town meeting plays no role in the statutory processes for mediating and arbitrating contract disputes between municipal employees and teachers and municipal employers and boards of education, respectively (CGS § 7-473c and § 10-153f). The processes specify conditions and timeframes for selecting arbitration panels, conducting hearings on the parties' last best offer, and rendering decisions on disputed issues. The parties to the dispute select the panel.

The law allows local legislative bodies to reject an arbitration panel's award, which they may do only by a two-thirds vote. It assigns this task to the board of selectmen in towns where the legislative body is the town meeting (CGS § 7-473c (d) (12) and (15) and § 10-153f (c) (7)). If a legislative body rejects the award, a new panel is selected by a state entity, and its decision is subject only to judicial review (CGS § 7-473c (d) (150 and § 10-153f (c) (8)).

JR: ro