Mayor Ivy Taylor said Thursday that the city’s legal team has council-approved authority to appeal the city’s lawsuits against the public safety unions but left the door open to stopping legal action if new contracts are negotiated.

Her statement comes in the wake of press releases from some council members calling for an end to the lawsuits days after a district court judge ruled against the city’s claims that the so-called “evergreen clause” in their contracts is unconstitutional.

Taylor said the city would “not finalize” its appeals if the unions would come to the negotiating table.

“City Council has given staff clear direction to challenge the constitutionality of the ‘evergreen clause’ in the expired fire and police contracts, which the unions have relied on to delay negotiations. My commitment to protect the city’s legal rights and the taxpayers’ interest remains firm: reaching a long-overdue agreement will put an end to the lawsuit,” the mayor said in a statement Thursday. “However, if the unions will return to the negotiating table, the city will not finalize our appeal. If the unions won’t take advantage of this opportunity to conclude contract negotiations, the city will continue to take every action necessary.”

But Mike Helle, president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association, rejected the mayor’s offer to return.

“Do not appeal your defeat,” he said in a statement. “Accept the ruling of a fair and impartial third party.”

Visiting district Judge Martha Tanner this week ruled against the city’s requests for summary judgment in its separate cases against the police and fire unions.

The city had argued that the evergreen clause, which can extend the terms of the collective-bargaining agreements by up to 10 years past their initial expiration, violates the Texas Constitution by creating an unfunded debt.

Union representatives argued that the clause is constitutional and that city officials are trying to wiggle out of agreements they’ve signed.

In an interview, Helle said the city needs to admit that the evergreen clause is constitutional and drop its “frivolous” lawsuit.

“I just don’t see any value of us going back to the table,” he said.

Chris Steele, president of the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, could not be reached for comment Thursday. His union has yet to begin negotiations. SAPOA, meanwhile, has been bargaining off and on for nearly two years. Both city and SAPOA officials say they were close to a deal earlier this year.

Now that the unions won in court, the city seems to have lost some of its negotiating leverage. Michael Bernard, the city’s lead trial attorney and member of the city’s negotiating team, said the city is ready to negotiate over the evergreen clause, but it’s unclear whether the city and SAPOA would budge from their positions on the matter enough to reach a deal.

Helle said it’s past time his union and the city make a deal but won’t do so under the threat of a lawsuit.

“Drop the frivolous lawsuit, and put it to rest,” he said. “Then it’s in everybody’s best interest to come back and get it done.”

The city has 30 days to appeal its cases, Bernard said. The clock starts when Tanner signs the orders in the case, which could be Friday. He made it clear that if the unions decide to negotiate but haven’t reached a deal by the appeals deadline, the city would preserve its right to proceed in the appeals process.

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