1. Dismissal actions against employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for grievance procedures and arbitration shall be governed solely by the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement; and

2. This section shall not apply to appointed employees or to employees designated in FNSBC 2.32.030(A)(1) through (4).

1. If the employee fails to timely demand a hearing, upon the expiration of the five-working-day time limit set forth above; or

2. If the employee timely demands a hearing, upon the date the employee waives the hearing by failing to attend or upon the date on which the Mayor or Hearing Officer issues a decision affirming the dismissal action, whichever shall first occur.

The Mayor or Hearing Officer may extend the employee’s probationary period, or affirm the dismissal if the supervisor, acting in good faith, is actually dissatisfied with the employee’s performance.

1. The affected employee shall serve written demand for the hearing on the Mayor or their designee not later than five working days following the employee’s receipt of written notice of the proposed dismissal action. If the written notice of the proposed dismissal action does not specify a hearing by an arbitrator the affected employee must, if a hearing before an arbitrator is desired, include that request in the employee’s demand for a hearing. Failure to serve demand for a hearing within the time limit, or to appear at a hearing scheduled in response to such a demand, shall constitute a waiver by the affected employee of the right to the hearing. Dismissal shall become effective:

2. If either party makes a timely request for an arbitrator, the parties shall meet, within 10 working days after receipt of the request, and endeavor to agree upon a panel of nine arbitrators. If no agreement is reached, the parties shall request the American Arbitration Association or the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to provide a listing of nine arbitrators. The parties shall select an arbitrator from the panel by alternatively striking names from the list; the order of striking shall be determined by the toss of a coin flipped by the employee and called by the Borough. The losing party shall pay expenses incident to the services of the arbitrator. If no losing party can be determined, the expenses shall be apportioned in an equitable manner as determined by the arbitrator.

If neither party requests that the hearing be conducted by an arbitrator, the Mayor shall appoint a disciplinary review board. The review board shall consist of three persons, including at least one managerial/professional employee of the Borough who works in a division of the Borough administration different from the department in which the affected employee works; and at least one private citizen, who is neither employed by nor under contract to the Borough. The affected employee may request disqualification of any member of the review board by filing an affidavit stating with particularity the grounds upon which it is claimed that a fair and impartial hearing cannot be afforded. The employee shall serve the affidavit on the Mayor or their designee not later than five working days following the employee’s receipt of written notice of the appointment of the review board. The Mayor shall consider disqualification requests concerning review board members and, if granted, appoint another member.

3. The board or arbitrator shall conduct a hearing on the matter as soon as reasonably practicable after service of demand for said hearing upon the Mayor or their designee. The board or arbitrator shall provide the affected employee with at least five working days’ notice of the date and place of hearing and shall provide both the affected employee and a representative of Borough management with an opportunity to exercise the following rights at the hearing:

The parties shall cooperate with each other and shall provide all relevant documents requested by the other unless barred by law from disclosure. The parties shall cooperate in making all witnesses available for interview as requested by the other. The parties shall exchange exhibits at least 10 days before the hearing. If additional information becomes available between submission of exhibits and the hearing, that information will be made available to the other party immediately.

4. The board or arbitrator shall conduct the hearing as specified above and, after considering the evidence presented at the hearing, shall determine whether there is just cause to dismiss the employee. The board or arbitrator may affirm the dismissal, impose a lesser disciplinary action, or prohibit the imposition of discipline against the employee for incidents examined at the hearing. If the review board conducts the hearing, the affirmative vote of two members shall constitute the decision of the board. All decisions shall be in writing and shall be issued as soon as reasonably practicable following termination of the hearing.

5. The review board or arbitrator shall deliver or mail its decision to the affected employee, and the decision is final unless the affected employee appeals the decision to the superior court not later than 30 days after the date on which the decision was delivered or mailed to the employee. The court shall review the matter on the record. The case shall not be tried de novo. The Rules of Appellate Procedure of the state of Alaska shall apply to the case. (Ord. 2019-09 § 2, 2019; Ord. 2018-13 §§ 7, 8, 2018; Ord. 2016-40 § 11, 2016; Ord. 2009-28 §§ 16, 17, 2009; Ord. 2003-58 §§ 13, 14, 2003; Ord. 2000-55 § 2, 2000; Ord. 96-047 § 2, 1996. 2004 Code § 2.24.322.)