FRANKFORT -- A legal battle drags on between Frankfort and a former city police officer with a checkered past.
Benzie Circuit Judge James M. Batzer ordered Frankfort to rehire ex-officer Tim Cavric late last month. But city officials contend they can't afford to bring Cavric back, so the city council subsequently voted to appeal the ruling.
Frankfort in 2003 laid off Cavric for budgetary reasons after residents repeatedly complained about his aggressive tactics. He filed a grievance in June 2006, days after the city hired a new part-time officer without first offering the position to him.
An arbitrator eventually ruled in Cavric's favor, but the city filed suit asking Batzer to overturn the ruling. Mayor Norma Elias said the city isn't happy with mounting legal fees as the process continues, but rehiring Cavric would be a bigger blow to the city's finances.
"Of course that's a concern; our budget is a concern," Elias said. "But also our budget on a long-term basis of bringing someone back."
The city is down to three full-time officers from as many as five a few years ago, and full-time officers generally make between $15 and $20 per hour. The arbitrator's ruling also said the city owes Cavric thousands of dollars in back pay, but the exact amount hasn't been determined.
The city has spent roughly $23,500 in legal fees fighting Cavric's reinstatement, city Clerk Kim Kidder said.
Cavric was fired from the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety before coming to Frankfort. He experienced complaints about his tactics at the Kalkaska Police Department, where he worked for a time after the Frankfort layoff. But Elias contends the decision to appeal Batzer's ruling was financial, not based on Cavric's work history.
"There's no question about it being budget," she said.
The city will be forced to make budget cuts if it loses on appeal, Elias said.
"That's what we're going to have to come up with if that happens," she said. "We'll have to do something."
Cavric isn't happy with the city's decision to appeal.
"What a colossal waste of taxpayer money. You've lost every step of the way, and now you're going to go to the Court of Appeals?" he said. "I can't imagine what the lawyer bills are going to be. You'd think at some point the taxpayers are going to have to say 'enough is enough.'"
Print this story
E-mail this story
