Council moves AFSCME DPW tentative agreement to warrant; town staff say changes aim to retain operators

The Merrimack Town Council voted unanimously to place a three-year tentative collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME (DPW workers) on the warrant for voter consideration.

Paul presented the agreement, which covers wastewater, highway, solid-waste and equipment maintenance employees. Key elements include creation of equipment-operator I/II lanes to provide a clearer career path, expansion to a 10-step salary progression to allow more frequent step increases, comp time up to 30 hours per year in lieu of overtime, and incentives for job-related certifications such as road-scholar training for highway staff. The contract adds a town Flexible Spending Account option and increases the safety-glasses allowance to $125 every other year to address prescription needs.

Paul said the town worked to reduce overtime costs by encouraging operators to volunteer for on-call duty rather than relying on supervisors; he also described a restructuring of steps and raises (a step drop in year one with an immediate 3 percent adjustment and a 2.5 percent step progression thereafter). He presented the contract cost impacts to the council as approximately $360,250 in year one, about $114,092 in year two, and roughly $111,005 in year three as spoken at the meeting.

A councilor asked whether wastewater-related costs came from user fees; Paul said roughly $130,000 of the year-one cost would come from wastewater user fees. The council moved the tentative agreement to the warrant by unanimous vote (6-0-0).

What happens next: the contract language and costs will be read at the public hearing and then presented at deliberative session for voters to decide.