PROSPECT — The Town Council last week approved a three-year agreement between the town and AFSCME Local 1303-39 Prospect Public Works Union.
The contract is retroactive to July 1 and runs through June 30, 2020.
Employees will receive a 3 percent raise in the first year of the contract, retroactive to July 1, and 2.75 percent raises in the final two years of the deal, according to the contract.
Prospect switched its health insurance to the Connecticut State Partnership Plan this fiscal year. According to the contract, employees will contribute 14 percent of the premium cost of the insurance in the first year. The employee contributions rise to 14.5 percent on July 1, 2018 and 15 percent on July 1, 2019.
“The insurance was taken care of when we changed to the state plan. They ratified that part early on. We are saving money on that,” Mayor Robert Chatfield said.
Chatfield said the town is also saving money on the clothing allowance. Under the contract, the town will reimburse employees $175 for buying boots rather than buying them two pairs each.
Under the contract, the number of sick days employees get goes up from eight to nine per year, and the amount they can accrue rises from 80 to 90.
This contract comes after the town approved a one-year contract previously as it was still in negotiations with the union.
Earlier this year, the town employees not covered under the public works union formed three unions — the police union, the supervisors union, and the town employees union.
Chatfield believes the public works contract will help set the stage for negotiations with the other three unions. He said he has met with the police union already, but hadn’t met with the two others as of last week.
