(Harrisburg) -- As state lawmakers take a look at ways to improve the Act 47 program for cash-strapped cities, they’re pondering ways to avoid sour arbitration disputes, like one in Scranton that was years in the making. Scranton spent the past eight years in arbitration over payments for its police and fire unions. But, the city’s spent the past 19 years in Act 47. The mayor says that’s being ignored by a recent state Supreme Court ruling that arbitration awards to the unions don’t have to be reduced based on the city’s financial distress. Dave Gervasi, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighter Association, says Scranton is trying to use its Act 47 status as a "union-busting tool," and to change the state’s arbitration law. "Any time you tamper with Act 111, you completely turn around the playing field on the municipality’s side," he says. "Act 111 is a fair...it’s always been a fair law." One lawmaker offering an amendment to the arbitration law says it doesn’t have to embitter either side of future negotiations between distressed cities and unions. He says a city’s ability to pay could be decided with a neutral set of factors, like its tax base, buildings, and services.