After a five-month prohibition, Toledo police officers are allowed again to work off-duty jobs outside some city bars and the city could be on the hook to pay back officers’ lost wages, an arbitrator ruled on Tuesday.

The officers could be back outside local watering holes as early as this weekend, said Dan Wagner, president of the Toledo Police Patrolman’s Association, which filed a grievance after the March 26 mandate was issued by police Chief William Moton.

The union argued that issuing the order prohibiting side project work in the middle of a contract was unfair. The union also argued that the city’s past practice of allowing such work despite a rule against it made the prohibition unfair.

RELATED: Read arbitrator’s ruling

Arbitrator Paul Glendon agreed.

“I felt that we were looking at this as an isolated situation as opposed to something that is much larger than Toledo, Ohio,” Mayor D. Michael Collins said. “... Leaders of police organizations across the country are prohibiting their officers from these types of off-duty employment.”

Mayor Collins said that the arbitrator likely ruled in the union’s favor because the city had a long-standing practice of allowing the side work, although, formally, there has almost always been a policy disallowing such work without prior approval by the department.

“For 38 years, a policy was, literally speaking, ignored ... and I believe that weighs heavily into the decision,” the mayor said. Despite that, the mayor said he is not disappointed in the Mr. Glendon’s ruling, and he does not consider off-duty project work to be a priority issue in future contract negotiations.

Chief Moton, according to the arbitration ruling, said he issued the directive because he was concerned for officer safety after drive-by shootings and homicides increased in the city, though officers were never injured in any of these incidents. Chief Moton also said off-duty project work could lead to costs for the city if an officer was injured during the extra work. The arbitrator noted that, since projecting began in 1978, no such case has been brought forward.

The union argued that allowing officers to work off duty makes the city safer.

“There were an extra 60 to 75 officers on the streets of Toledo that the city didn’t have to pay for,” Mr. Wagner said. “They were being paid by a private business and I don’t know any chief that would turn down an extra 75 officers without cost to the city.”

Mr. Wagner said that, while officers were prohibited from taking jobs outside of bars, which are defined as any business where alcohol sales are the primary source of revenue, there were “some incidents,” he said. Specifically, there were domestic violence complaints that “would have been prevented if an officer was present.”

Two officers were punished for insubordination for working off-duty bar projects while the order was in effect. Mr. Wagner said the officers' punishments would “stand very easily” because they violated an order. In each case, the officers signed a plea agreement that stated they could not appeal the punishments.

The arbitrator wrote that the city and the union would have to negotiate for any possible repayment of lost wages. Mr. Wagner estimated that could cost the city about $250,000, although a more-exact figure wouldn’t be known without first surveying all of the officers who regularly worked those details. The union has until Oct. 31 to file reimbursement claims.

Officers will not be allowed to work at establishments where the city is attempting to revoke a business’s liquor license or there is another conflict of interest.

Contact Taylor Dungjen at tdungjen@theblade.com, or 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @taylordungjen.

First Published October 1, 2014, 4:00 a.m.