TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – An extremely frustrated Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre walked out of a meeting of county commissioners Tuesday while giving a presentation on his 2025 budget proposal. The outburst comes after commissioners last week rejected a contract for sheriff’s office employees.

“I will tell you that discussing wages in contract negotiations in this environment is perceived as interference from commissioners and that is an unfair business practice and I will not participate in that,” Navarre said. “You crossed the line.”

During Navarre’s presentation, county commissioners repeatedly pressed him about proposed salary increases for sheriff’s office employees. The raises were included in a contract agreement between the sheriff’s office and the Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents sheriff’s office employees. Commissioners refused to approve the deal last week.

Commissioners Tuesday discussed the fact that Navarre did not give them a specific dollar amount for how much the raises would cost the county.

Commissioners addressed the incident in a joint statement:

“We are disappointed that the Sheriff chose not to attend today’s budget hearing. The Sheriff’s Office is the largest department budget in Lucas County’s general fund, and any increase above the 2024 budget level will have a countywide impact. At the beginning of this year’s budget process, the Lucas County Commissioners The Board has instructed all departments and agencies to hold their 2025 budgets steady as we face a revenue shortfall. We are committed to a transparent, public discussion with all entities receiving funding and welcome the Sheriff or his representative to join us at next week’s budget hearings and pick up where we left off today. “We welcome you.”

Navarre also released a statement:

Contract negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) began in early July 2024 with the full knowledge and consent of the County Commissioners. I was promised an economical offer from the commissioners for a few weeks. On September 24, I was informed that no offer would be received and that the completion of the negotiations was requested to be postponed until the end of the year. The contract expires on December 31. On September 30, I sent a memo to all three Commissioners explaining why their requests were not feasible. My note was ignored. I continued negotiations and reached a provisional agreement with the FOP on 1 October, which was subsequently ratified by their membership. Commissioners rejected the deal on November 5. The next step under the Ohio Bargaining Act is a hearing before a Fact Finder, who will then make a recommendation that the Commissioners or the FOP may reject. If either party rejects the Fact Finder report, the final step will be Binding Settlement.

At today’s meeting, all three Commissioners took exception to the fact that 2025 employee raises were not included in our budget requests. It is worth noting that our 2025 budget was submitted in August and the Agreement with the FOP was not reached until October 1. Additionally, my financial staff and I were given specific instructions not to estimate employee wages and that they would be added at a later date.

I was expecting questions about contract negotiations before today’s budget hearing. Therefore, I consulted our employment lawyer, who advised me that it would be inappropriate to discuss the negotiations in a public setting as it could be perceived as “interference” by the Commissioners and could constitute an “Unfair Labor Practice.” I reported this situation to the Commissioners during the hearing, but I did not get any results. They continued to ask questions and left me no choice but to leave the hearing without conclusion.

Navarre also sent 13 Action News a copy of a memo he sent to commissioners in September. The article claims that sheriff’s office employees are the lowest-paid in the county, creating “tremendous challenges” in recruiting and retaining employees. You can see the note below.

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