Poplar Bluff City Council will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the council chambers to decide if city administration will begin discussions with a possible police department union.
A proposed ordinance would set the structure for the city to begin these discussions, city attorney Mark Richardson explained Monday, during the regular council meeting.
The meeting was attended by approximately 20 members of the police department, including patrol officers, dispatchers and school resource officers.
City administrators are not recommending voluntary recognition at this time, according to city manager Mark Massingham.
"We feel like each person in the department that can be a part of the bargaining unit (should) be able to vote on it," he said.
Matters such as who could be a member would be negotiated by the city and union after the ordinance is passed, Richardson said.
These discussions could delay a vote by the department to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 702, whose representative has approached the council for recognition. IBEW represents a variety of workers beyond utilities, including one police department in Missouri.
IBEW representative Mark Baker has asked for the police department union to include 58 members, everyone except for the police chief and deputy chief.
Richardson has said the number of members should be closer to 20, excluding anyone of what he describes as a supervisory position.
"Right now, it's our opinion, has been our opinion, that the appropriate bargaining unit would be the basic police officers," Richardson said, later explaining, "If we are unable to agree on the appropriate size, what it encompasses, then that would be determined by an independent person."
The unit should not include people such as those who can set schedules, participate in discipline or other supervisory duties, according to Richardson.
Members of the police department said in an interview last week a union could help deal with pay and equipment needs they feel are lagging behind other departments.
IBEW also represents Municipal Utilities and Ozark Border locally.