Town Hall, Library Employees Get Four-Year Contracts

Two town unions have come to an agreement for a four-year contract, and the Legislative Council signed off on the deals this week.

The Town Hall and Library unions each agreed to the contracts that call for raises of 1.95 percent in the first year — which is the current fiscal year — and increases of 2 percent for the next three years.

The contracts also eliminated a health care option that was the most expensive for the town, according to attorney Jason Stanevich of Littler Mendelson, which represented the town in the negotiations.

Newly-hired employees also will have 15 sick days, down from the current 18 days. The 150 day cap on accrued sick days will remain the same, Stanevich said.

The contract also moves newly hired employees to a 457 deferred contribution plan in 2017, eliminating the town's participation in the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement System. The plan is similar to the 401k plan utilized in the private sector.

But state officials have said that municipalities are prohibited to have a deferred contribution plan if it also is using the CMERS, Stanevich said.

That's going to have to be figured out on the state level, he said, through legislation that would allow the change. Already the state is facing lawsuits over the matter, he said.

The switch to a deferred contribution plan is a major victory for the town, he said. "The unions did not have to negotiate this with us," he said. 

But the fact that it's not currently legal to do was a concern to Councilwoman Betty Wetmore. "This is nice on paper but what if the state prohibits it?" she asked.

"It will take some time to reverse this policy position," Stanevich said, which is why it's not slated to go into effect for four years. But "the fact that we even have this concession is significant," he said.

Councilman Jack Kennelly said he was surprised at the raises included in the pact.

"This is not what we were led to believe would happen at budget time," he said  noting that it was stated the increase would be zero.

"We are very proud that these unions have negotiated agreements that are fair to the taxpayers and the employees of our town," said Chief Administrative Officer Curt Balzano Leng. "The agreements continue to demonstrate Hamden's efforts to significantly improve our overall financial position.

"The fact that these union agreements were both approved by a bipartisan, unanimous vote of the Hamden Legislative Council speaks volumes," he said. 

The move to a 401K-type retirement plan continues Mayor Scott Jackson's efforts toward implementing comprehensive pension reform, Leng said — "the town's most significant financial reform in decades.

"Today is a great day for Hamden taxpayers and Hamden employees," he said.