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In Agreement: Newport Selectboard supports new town, police union contract

By Patrick Adrian
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
NEWPORT — The town of Newport has reached a collective bargaining agreement with the Newport police union for a four-year contract with a total increase in wages of $159,846 and a total net cost of $120,661 by the end of fiscal year 2025.

The Newport Selectboard unanimously ratified the agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local #3657 on Monday, two days before the deadline to finalize contracts for the next fiscal year.

Newport’s officers have been working without a new contract since Tuesday, May 11, 2021, due to an impasse between the town and the union over the “step system,” a contractual system of built-in pay adjustments and incentives based on a police officer’s overall experience or longevity in the department.

Newport officers contend that the step increases, which are awarded at 18-month intervals of employment, are essential to recruiting and retaining Newport’s officers.

Town Manager Hunter Rieseberg said he still questions whether this new agreement will improve police recruitment, which has been a nationwide challenge for reasons beyond compensation, though the agreement helps to better compensate the town’s current officers.

“I don’t think anyone can claim officers will be getting rich off of this,” Rieseberg said on Monday. “But it will make our salaries more competitive.”

Under the agreement, the first year of the contract will start retroactively on July 1, 2021, though officers will receive no pay increases during this first year.

Newport officers will retain their steps, with step pay increases and cost of living increase to take effect at the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, 2022.

In exchange the police union agreed to switch to the health insurance plan currently used by the rest of the town employees, which is estimated to save the town $39,185 in insurance costs next fiscal year.

If town voters approve the contract, the total tax rate impact would be an additional 26 cents per $1,000 assessed property value by fiscal year 2025, with approximate rate increases of 9 cents per $1,000 for each year of the contract, with exception of the first.

The second year costs include $59,9710 for step pay increases and $21,340 for cost of living increases. After offsetting the insurance plan savings, the net cost to the town is projected to be $41,865, with a tax rate impact of 9 cents, or the equivalent to an additional $13.50 on a $150,000 home.

The contract cost would increase by $37,859 in fiscal year 2023 and $40,937 in fiscal year 2024.

Town voters will vote on the proposed contract on Tuesday, May 10, along with the proposed town budget for next fiscal year and additional warrant articles.

Town will pursue bond for new recreation center

Newport voters on May 10 will also be asked to consider a proposed $4 million bond to fund the construction of a new town recreation center, which would have more than twice the square footage of the current facility and twice the gymnasium size.

The current center, located at 65 Belknap Ave., is nearly 100 years old and requires substantial rehabilitation and is too small to accommodate many of the community’s needs.

The selectboard is proposing a 20-year bond that would have an interest rate of 3% based on current rates. Based on today’s numbers, the project would have a tax impact in its first year of approximately 74 cents per $1,000 of assessed property, or an additional $111 on a $150,000 home.

In subsequent years that tax impact would incrementally decline as the bond is paid off.

The proposed center is estimated to cost around $7 million. The town intends to fund $3 million of the project through donations and grants.

According to Rieseberg, the town already has funds and commitments totalling $2.7 million, including $1.7 million in community-based pledges.

“There are also donors who have told me that if this is approved they will donate more money,” Rieseberg told the selectboard. “So I suspect we will have a little difficulty getting to three million.”

The selectboard reiterated that payment on a bond would not have to begin until the project is completed, as an assurance to potentially anxious voters, who on Tuesday approved a bond to fund a $15.4 million renovation of the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center, of which the town’s tax obligation is estimated to be around $1.9 million.

This marks the town’s second effort to fund a new recreation center. A similar proposal went before voters in 2019, which voters rejected by a vote of 443 in favor and 553 against.

Town officials attributed the previous rejection to the town’s rush to add the question to the town warrant, which did not provide sufficient time to explain the project to residents.

reporter

@eagletimes.com

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