Arlington town meeting approves pay-plan tweaks, ratifies police and fire contracts and clears multiple appropriations

Arlington’s annual town meeting on May 26 approved a package of personnel reclassifications, contract ratifications and multiple appropriations that town officials said were needed to finalize long-running labor negotiations and maintain municipal services.

The meeting passed Article 61, a minor amendment to the classification and pay plan that the finance committee said required $8,588 to fund salary adjustments. Christine Deshler, chair of the finance committee, described the measure as routine annual housekeeping: positions are reviewed when vacant and some titles have been retitled to reflect changed duties. After a brief explanation and questions from members about positions funded by ARPA, the main motion passed by electronic vote recorded as 191 in the affirmative, 2 negative and 2 abstentions.

Separately, Article 62 ratified collective bargaining agreements for patrol officers, ranking officers and firefighters. Deshler told the meeting the finance committee voted unanimously to recommend the appropriation; the funding package included $1,876,842 from general taxes and $1,653,523 from the salary reserve fund to cover retroactive compensation and ratify contract terms. Town Manager Jim Feeney said the new agreements extend through FY27 and represent “fair and competitive deals that will allow Arlington to remain an attractive municipal workplace.” After questions about why some payments covered prior fiscal years and how future negotiations will be handled, the article passed (reported tally: 191 yes, 5 no, 4 abstentions).

The meeting also approved several other finance items on the consent calendar: a Commonwealth Transportation Infrastructure Fund distribution of roughly $36,140.89 to support a town Blue program (Article 69); a water-bodies fund appropriation intended for testing, treatment and invasive-species work (Article 76); and a municipal building insurance appropriation of $100,000 to repair damage at 51A Grove Street after a fire (Article 80). The moderator and presenters repeatedly emphasized that the water-bodies funding addresses recurring invasive-plant work, including mechanical harvesting and volunteer efforts to remove water chestnut and milfoil.

Finance chair Deshler also presented Articles 84 and 87: a cemetery maintenance and columbarium appropriation and a plan to apply $11,368,820 in certified free cash toward the town’s FY27 operating budget. Deshler said the free-cash policy historically applies half of certified amounts to the next year’s operating budget and retains the remainder in undesignated fund balance; the article passed and Deshler noted the select board will be instructed regarding tax-rate implementation as allowed by Department of Revenue practice.

The meeting’s votes were consistent with the finance committee’s recommendations and followed electronic voting and show-of-hands procedures. Where members pressed for more detail—on retroactive pay, ARPA-funded positions, or the long timelines of bargaining—town staff answered that the current contracts provide coverage through FY27 and that some temporary, grant or ARPA-funded roles were never converted to ongoing, benefited positions.