advertisements
News
City of Bartlesville
Posted: Mar 02, 2026 6:55 PMUpdated: Mar 02, 2026 7:47 PM
Bartlesville City Council Approves New Firefighter Contract After Arbitrator's Ruling
Nathan Thompson
The Bartlesville City Council approves a new contract with Bartlesville Professional Firefighters Local 200 following an arbitrator’s ruling that the union’s “last best offer” must be accepted.
City Attorney Jess Kane told council members Monday the decision stemmed from a Jan. 19 hearing and a written ruling issued Feb. 20 by neutral arbitrator Glynis Gilder.
"That is that in a binary process, the arbitrator chose the union's proposed contract and not the city's," Kane said. "What the union's press release lacks is context, and they have declined to provide that context through additional updates and information as it became available."
But Kane says the full written decision strongly supported the city’s position on one of its top priorities — moving from a seniority-based promotion system to a merit-based one.
"Regarding the issue of how promotions should be handled, this arbitrator favored the city's proposal. While seniority should most definitely be a factor of consideration when a promotion is under consideration, it should not be the factor that predominates in the decision-making process," Kane said quoting from the arbitrator's decision. "This seems to be the status quo in the fire department. Those are the words of arbitrator Gilder from her final decision."
Under all-or-nothing arbitration rules, Gilder could not combine portions of each side’s proposal. Kane says the arbitrator rejected the city’s approach to curbing sick leave abuse because it did not guarantee progressive discipline already outlined in the contract.
City data presented in arbitration showed firefighters average 188 hours of sick leave per year, which is significantly higher than peer cities. Kane also said overtime costs have climbed by $200,000 each over the past two fiscal years.
Following the arbitrator's decision, the City Council approved the contract 4-0. Councilor Aaron Kirkpatrick abstained from the vote for ethical reasons, since the firefighter's union openly campaigned for his election.
City officials say the focus now shifts to addressing promotions and sick leave in the next round of negotiations.
« Back to News
