Norwich council approves labor contracts, adds $35,000 for grant writing; Dodd Stadium decision postponed

NORWICH — The Norwich City Council on June 16 approved two collective-bargaining agreements, added $35,000 to pay outside grant-writing consultants and postponed a decision on the disposition of Dodd Stadium until the council's second meeting in July.

The council approved the AFSCME local 24 22 city hall employees collective bargaining unit agreement and the UPSU 9 0 and 9 11 dispatchers collective bargaining unit agreement by 7-0 votes. Council members said the settlements were covered by contingency funds that had been budgeted earlier in the fiscal year and that the final settlements came in below the contingency estimates.

Why it matters: approving the contracts and the related budget transfers finalizes negotiated pay and benefit terms for covered city employees and shifts already-budgeted contingency dollars into those accounts. The separate $35,000 appropriation directs contingency funds toward outside grant-writing services intended to pursue Community Investment Fund grants, a step council members said is intended to increase the city's capacity to secure outside project funding.

Both labor agreements were…