Cheshire council ratifies two-year contract with police dispatchers union

The Town of Cheshire Town Council on May 27 ratified a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the Cheshire Police Department dispatchers, UPSEU Local 424 Unit 101, covering July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2026.

Town Manager Sean M. Kimball summarized key terms after the council returned from an executive session: elimination of the probationary wage step, creation of a new wage step 8, a $2,000 market wage adjustment retroactive to July 1, 2024, and general wage increases of 2.4 percent effective for the 2024–25 fiscal year and 2.4 percent effective July 1, 2025. The contract also codifies Juneteenth as a recognized holiday and relabels Columbus Day as Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day; it updates grievance and arbitration procedures.

Councilor Tricia Kramer presented the resolution to approve the tentative agreement and the council voted unanimously to ratify the contract. Councilors thanked union and town negotiators for completing the negotiations; Kimball specifically acknowledged the work of town staff and department leadership. The council first met in executive session to discuss the contract before returning to the public meeting to consider and vote on the resolution. The agreement was presented as a tentative agreement ready for ratification; the vote certified the terms described and put them into effect for the stated term.

The ratification is limited to the terms described; the council did not separately amend town ordinances. The council did not provide a detailed wage schedule in the public summary beyond the adjustments and step changes announced by Kimball; further payroll implementation steps were not detailed at the meeting.