Town Hall Employees Win First Contract Approval

Twenty-one Branford Town Hall employees have their first contract after the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) unanimously approved the 4‑year pact which includes 2.1 percent wage increases each year.

Members of the newly formed Local 1303 – 458 of Council 4 of AFSCME, AFL-CIO approved the tentative agreement on June 12. The proposed contract was unanimously approved by the RTM’s Administrative Services Committee July 1. Then, in an unusual bipartisan action, the 15 Republicans and 5 Democrats present at Wednesday’s RTM meeting unanimously approved the pact in a roll-call vote.

“I think it was a fair contract,” First Selectman James Cosgrove told the Eagle following the meeting. ​“There was much negotiation that went back and forth.” The contract took more than two years to adopt. (Click here to read an earlier story.)

Cosgrove said the first contract for Town Hall supervisors is still under negotiation. ​“We’ve working diligently to get them all resolved,” he said in regard to the contracts. The supervisors are members of Local 818 – 60 of Council 4 of AFSCME, AFL-CIO.

Democratic Minority Leader Chris Sullivan said the employees agreed to accept compensatory time off instead of overtime pay. ​“This is a fair contract for the town and the employees,” he said prior to the vote.

Current employees will receive retroactive pay for the first year of the pact, fiscal year 2013 – 2014. The agreement extends through fiscal year 2016 – 2017.

The new union, which was certified in 2012, includes the following 21 positions: Assistant Building Official, Administrative Library Assistant, IT Network Analyst, IT Network Engineer, Counseling Center Receptionist, Office Manager Counseling Center, Crime Analyst, Senior Center Activity Coordinator, Special Projects Manager/EDC, Medical Billing Accounting Supervisor, Payroll Coordinator, Assistant Director Senior Center, Senior Center Administrative Assistant, Animal Control Officer, Assistant Animal Control Officer, Youth Outreach, Zoning Enforcement Officer, Electrician Waste Water Treatment Plant, Operations Manager Waste Water Treatment Plant, Assistant Town Planner, and Transportation Coordinator.

Wages vary according to position, ranging from the Administrative Library Assistant who received $31,773 during 2012 – 2013. At the end of the contract period that position will receive an annual salary of $34,527.

The union’s highest paid position is Special Projects Manager/EDC, who received $89,016 during 2012 – 2013, and will earn $96,732 by the end of the contract.

Attorney William Ryan and Finance Director Jim Finch represented the town in negotiations with the union. Finch and another 20 employees, including department heads, will not be in the union. Those who negotiate separately include town officials whose appointments are made by commissions or who are themselves involved in contract negotiations or who perform other duties that involve confidential communications.

In other business, the RTM unanimously approved a resolution recommended by the Board of Finance which refinances about $4 million of general obligation bonds.

Republican RTM member Frank Twohill said the action will save taxpayers $120,000 over the course of four years. He extended his compliments to the finance director and the first selectman for their efforts. ​“This was a good move,” Twohill said.

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