Montana Title 39. Labor § 39-31-504. Selection of arbitrator--procedure--cost sharing

(1)(a) After receipt of the petition to arbitrate under 39-31-502(2)(d), the board of personnel appeals shall submit a list of five qualified, disinterested, and unbiased individuals to the parties. Each party shall alternately strike two names from the list. The order of striking names must be determined by a coin toss. The remaining individual is the arbitrator.

(b) If the parties have not designated the arbitrator and notified the board of personnel appeals of their choice within 5 days of receipt of the list, the board of personnel appeals shall appoint the arbitrator from the names on the list. However, if one of the parties strikes names from the list, as provided in subsection (1)(a), the board of personnel appeals shall appoint the arbitrator from the names remaining on the list.

(a) the interest and welfare of the public;

(b) the reasonable financial ability of the unit of government to meet the costs of the proposed contract, giving consideration and weight to the other services provided by the unit of government, as determined by the governing body of the unit of government;

(c) the ability of the unit of government to attract and retain qualified personnel at the wage and benefit levels provided;

(d) the overall compensation presently received by the police officers, including direct wage compensation, holiday pay, other paid excused time, insurance, and all other direct or indirect monetary benefits;

(e) comparison of the overall compensation of other police officers in comparable communities with similar populations in Montana and contiguous states;

(f) inflation as measured by the consumer price index, U.S. city average, commonly known as the cost of living;

(g) the stipulations of the parties; and

(h) other factors, consistent with subsections (3)(a) through (3)(g), that are traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. However, the arbitrator may not use other factors if, in the judgment of the arbitrator, the factors listed in subsections (3)(a) through (3)(g) provide a sufficient basis for an award.