by Brian Keaney

The firefighter and public safety dispatcher unions have signed new three-year contracts with the Town, leaving only three unions remaining.  Selectmen ratified the deals in a special meeting on Monday night and the Finance Committee voted to recommend their passage to Town Meeting shortly thereafter. 

Both unions have agreed to a 0% wage increase for the past fiscal year in which they worked without a contract.  Like the other unions that have signed deals they agreed to a 1% raise for the current fiscal year, a 1% raise next year, and a 2% raise the following year.

Firefighters also negotiated a $3 per hour raise in their detail pay from $35 an hour to $38.  A clause at the end ensures that if the police negotiate a higher rate that the same will apply to firefighters for all private parties, but not if the town hires them for a detail.

Firefighters will also now receive one additional vacation day for each five year period they have worked for the department, up to five additional days.  Stipends will rise to $1,300, up from $1,100, if they are certified to use a defibrillator machine and an epi-pen.  In 2011 that will increase to $1,500.

A section on blood-borne diseases was also reworded to include several new diseases.  Now, if a firefighter comes into contact with an infected patient and contracts Hepatitis A, B, or C, Tuberculosis, HIV, Anthrax, or Meningitis, it will be presumed to have been contracted in the course of duty unless proven otherwise for the purposes of any death or disability that arises from it.

In a section that was favored by both sides, all newly appointed officers will attend the Massachusetts Fire Academy’s training program for officer skills.  Finance Committee member Mark Driscoll tried to connect the dots between this new provision and the recent appointment of Acting Chief Bill Cullinane.

The last Annual Town Meeting rejected a proposal put forth by Town Administrator Bill Keegan and favored by Driscoll to remove the chief from the provisions of civil service. 

“Now you see what you got, only one guy passed that test,” Driscoll said, “and the only reason he is the chief is because he passed that test.  And now we are going to pay them to go to school so maybe more can pass the test next time.”

Keegan disagreed with the statement, saying that the schooling was “good, practical skill training.”  Assistant Town Administrator Nancy Baker added that while the training would increase their exposure, it was not the same as studying for the chief’s exam.

The final major change of the contract was to increase the burial benefit a firefighter would receive from $10,000 to $20,000 if he should fall in the line of duty.

“We hope that we never have to use it,” Keegan said.

The public safety dispatchers who work between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. will see their pay differential rise by five cents.  The 4 p.m. to midnight employees will receive a differential of $1 upon execution of the contract, and those from midnight to 8 a.m. will see it rise from $1.10 to $1.15.  It will continue to rise by a nickel in each of the three years of the contract.

Dispatchers will also receive a third personal day, and their dry cleaning allowance will rise from $375 a year to $450.

Driscoll expressed a displeasure with many of the perks included in the contracts such as stipends.  He said he would rather see the money placed directly into paychecks as a more transparent measure.

“In these contracts there are little perks all over the place,” Driscoll said.  “It helps to get 0, 1, 1 and 2 [percent], which makes the taxpayers happy, but its not being completely open.”

Keegan said that in a perfect world he would prefer to put the money directly into paychecks as well, but realistically it was not possible.  Committee member Kevin Young suggested that in the future information be included that shows how many employees would be affected by each change, and what the cost would be.

All the contracts ratified by both the Selectmen and the unions were recommended to be funded by the Committee.  The only dissenting vote was cast by Committee member Derek Moutlon, who said he felt the Town would have a tough time finding the money to pay for them.

With the approval of the firefighters and dispatchers contracts the Town will spend $119,000 of the $122,000 set aside in salary reserves.  On the general government side the parks and recreation employees and both police unions have yet to come to terms with the Town.

On the School Department side, which negotiates seperatly, the teachers’ union, by far the largest, also has yet to reach an accord.  The teachers and both police unions have formed an alliance in their negotiations.  Town sources close to the negotiations say that there are “some unrealistic expectations” on the part of those employees.

Town Meeting will take up the contracts when they meet on November 16.