Crime & Safety
Union, Selectmen Ratify New 2-Year Police Contract
One thing local officials and Hampton police officers didn't unwrap on Christmas morning this week was a contract impasse, as the town and union reached an agreement on a new two-year deal.
One thing local officials and Hampton police officers didn't unwrap on Christmas morning this week was a contract impasse, as the town and union reached an agreement on a new two-year deal that calls for a variety of increases and health contribution changes.
The current contract took years to ratify, although negotiations on the proposed deal for 2014 to 2016 moved quickly and without impasses.
Selectmen unanimously approved the deal Monday night not long after members of the patrolmen and sergeants arms of the Hampton Police Association did the same, and now the contract will go before taxpayer approval at the annual town meeting in March.
"This agreement in my opinion is in the best interest of the town," said Dick Nichols, chairman of the Hampton Board of Selectmen. "It’s fair to both sides and I recommend that selectmen ratify [it] and voters support it."
If approved at town meeting, the contract would kick in on April 1, 2014, and end on March 31, 2016. The estimated cost to the town in 2014 is $80,000, while the estimated cost in 2015 is $150,000.
Nichols said the contract would provide union members with an across-the-board increase of 1.25 percent in both 2014 and 2015, and that it would establish new steps in the employees' pay scales.
A new second-year patrolman step would be added between the current first- and fourth-year steps. A 20th-year patrolman step, featuring a 2-percent increase over the existing 15th-year step, would also be added.
The contract would also increase the sergeant's wage scale by 30 cents per hour, while detectives would receive an additional 5 percent over their current base pay. Nichols said that 5 percent is consistent with what detectives and patrolmen have "been receiving right along" under the current contract.
Prosecutors will receive an additional 2 percent while performing prosecutorial duties.
Part-time employees would also receive higher line-of-duty death benefits under the new contract, as the proposal calls for an increase in this area from $10,000 to $40,000.
The concession for receiving those increases is that new employees hired after April 1, 2014, would be required to contribute more toward their health insurance premiums.
Employees who choose a point of service plan would be asked to contribute 25 percent, an increase over the 15 percent that current employees must contribute. Employees who choose a health maintenance organization plan will have to cover 20 percent, up from existing employees' 10 percent.
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The police contract is one of three union contracts expected to appear on the 2014 town meeting ballot.
A deal for Hampton Public Works Department employees — who have been without a contract for roughly seven years — has already been ratified, while a new deal for the Seacoast Education Association is expected soon.
Find out what's happening in Hampton-North Hamptonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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