Contracts Ratified with Police, Fire, DPW and Dispatcher's Unions

Town Manager Norman Khumalo announced at last week's selectmen meeting that the town has ratified their contracts with the police, fire, public work's and dispatchers unions.

"After many months of respectful, yet spirited negotiations, the town reached a three-year agreement with the police, public works, and dispatcher unions, and a one-year agreement with the fire department," Khumalo said.

The contract with the fire department is good until June 30, 2012. The other three groups are good until June 30, 2014. All will go into effective retroactively on July 1, 2011.

All four unions accepted a health care change that will allow the town to switch to a three -year Tufts Health care plan, from Fallon and Harvard Pilgrim.

" This change will allow the town to realize significant savings and richer plan benefits for both the town and its employees," Khumalo wrote in a press release. " The unions also agreed to a three year schedule of plan design changes, which should save the taxpayers significant amounts of money on health insurance costs while still providing excellent and improved coverage for the employees and their families."

To learn more about the key details of the contracts visit the town's website.

"On behalf of the town, I would like to thank the unions for their respectful, conscientious, professional and intelligent discourse during the negotiations," Khumalo said. " In these times of unprecedented fiscal challenges, the town is grateful to the unions for keeping the short and long term financial interests of the town in mind."