County, fired deputy near agreement
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By MARK GUNDERMAN
mark.gunderman@lee.net
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 3:04 PM CDT
An arbitration hearing over the firing of a Chippewa County sheriff’s deputy was suspended Tuesday, as the county is near a settlement, County Administrator Bill Reynolds confirmed Wednesday morning.
Deputy Jeff Soppeland was fired earlier this year violating various work rules, some of which could be termed insubordination.
In March, what was then the county personnel committee upheld Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk’s decision to fire Soppeland. The deputy then appealed the firing to a state arbitrator, following a procedure spelled out in the union contract.
The arbitration hearing, during which witnesses were to be called under oath, began Tuesday and was scheduled to last three days.
Reynolds said this morning that the hearing was suspended in anticipation of a settlement with Soppeland, but no agreement had been signed.
Reynolds said he did not anticipate that taking place today, but he hoped the matter would be concluded by Friday.
“The parties have worked out the broad terms of an agreement,” attorney Andrew Schauer with the Wisconsin Professional Police Association said this morning.
Schauer said basically the agreement would involve Soppeland’s termination becoming a resignation, but he would not disclose any other details at this time.
“The parties came together and amicably worked out a resolution,” he said. “Everyone shook hands at the end of the day.”
Had the hearing gone to its conclusion, the arbitrator could have ultimately decided to uphold the county’s action, or to re-instate Soppeland with back pay with the county directed to impose a lesser penalty.
The arbitrator’s decision likely would have come a number of weeks or months after the conclusion of the hearing.
The parties would have the right to appeal an arbitrator’s decision to a circuit court.
The charges against Soppeland focused on a Jan. 28 incident. The county said Soppeland spent up to two hours in the jail talking with staff about internal matters and his general dissatisfaction with Kowalczyk’s handling of the department.
Soppeland was on duty as a patrol deputy at the time, and should not have lingered at the jail instead of performing his patrol duties.
Soppeland was also allegedly involved in an effort to take a “no confidence” vote in Kowalczyk’s leadership among Sheriff’s Department staff.
In his March 14 termination letter to Soppeland, Kowalczyk detailed which department policies were being violated, and said Soppeland allegedly made “untrue statements” in a March 6 interview on the matter.
A jail sergeant was also suspended without pay for five days due to the Jan. 28 incident.
Soppeland, represented by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, argued that termination was too harsh of a penalty for the offenses alleged.
Any agreement resolving the dispute would have to be made public under Wisconsin’s Open Records Law. Should it be necessary, the Chippewa Herald will file an open records request for a copy of any agreement.
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