City of Fostoria v. Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Ass'n

{¶ 1} The Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (“OPBA”) and dispatcher Louanne Grine appeal from a decision of the Seneca County Court of Appeals affirming the trial court’s decision to modify an arbitration award that reinstated three police dispatchers to the Fostoria Police Department. The history of the case reveals that on February 1, 2002, the police department laid off all three full-time members of its dispatchers unit in compliance with the city’s mandate that each department reduce its budget by 20 percent to avoid an impending $1.5 million budget shortfall.1 Because of those…