The city described the current status of contract negotiations with the Bartlesville Professional Firefighters (Local 200) as an adversarial, statutorily required process and said it has proposed reforms to promotions and overtime while offering a 5% pay increase.

"This is a statutorily required adversarial process that we are involved in," City Attorney Jess Kane told the council on Nov. 3, saying he is prohibited from contacting union members directly. He said the city's most recent offer (Sept. 26) combined a 2.5% merit increase and a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment, matching the city's approach for other employees.

Kane said the city's offer also proposed "significant reforms to the fire department's promotional process and the rules governing overtime," describing a shift from seniority-based promotion to a merit-based system the city says will better align with contemporary practices. He said the city had expected the union to respond; "after more than a month, the union has failed to respond to the city's offer or request additional negotiations." Interest arbitration was initiated by the city on Sept. 29 but has been delayed by the federal government shutdown, Kane said; the city proposed a neutral arbitrator selected by agreement outside the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to avoid the delay.

Kane and City Manager Mike Bailey presented data that the city says underpins its overtime concerns. City staff reported an average of 188 hours of sick leave per firefighter over six years — "85 hours more than the average in our universe," Kane said — and showed that 81% of total sick leave was taken in pay periods the city calls "short" (when automatic overtime does not apply), a pattern the city said creates a financial incentive within the current contract structure and drives force-back overtime costs.

Council members asked about the range and time span of the data; staff said the dataset covers six years and that overtime costs rose about $400,000 over the last two years. City officials said they remain open to negotiated solutions and that a neutral arbitrator agreed to by both parties could be appointed outside FMCS. Kane also criticized some public social-media tactics by union supporters and urged citizens to review the October 17 CityBeat interview with Mr. Bailey for additional detail.

The council did not take a vote on wages or contract language during the meeting; staff said they continue to await a formal union response and remain available for negotiation.