Council reallocates ARPA funds for Squad A replacement and ratifies three-year supervisors union deal

Norwich — At the June 15 meeting the Norwich City Council approved two fiscal and personnel items: a reclassification of underspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to cover part of the Squad A replacement project, and formal consideration and approval of a tentative three-year contract with the city’s supervisors union (MEUI).

Comptroller Joshua Pathio explained that recent U.S. Treasury guidance permits jurisdictions to reallocate ARPA funds that were previously obligated but remain underspent; using the available ARPA balance for the squad replacement would avoid returning federal funds and would free capital dollars for other uses. During public comment and council discussion members cited previously reported project numbers: the project record presented to the council identified roughly $645,000 in ARPA and $554,000 in capital funds toward the squad replacement, and the reallocation the council approved applied an available ARPA balance to cover part of the remaining cost.

Some council members noted that using ARPA funds meant the city avoided new borrowing for the apparatus. Alderman Nestrom dissented, citing a prior fire study that recommended not replacing the apparatus because of liability and apparatus-sizing concerns; he voted against the reallocation.

The council also approved a tentative agreement with the MEUI supervisors union. City Manager John Salomone summarized the deal as a three-year contract effective July 1, 2026 through fiscal 2029 with wage increases of 3.5% in year one and 3.25% in years two and three, an increase in an HSA/employee cost-share to 14.5% in year three, the formal addition of Juneteenth (referred to in the meeting as "Junth") as a paid holiday, and adjustments to grievance/step procedures. The MEUI membership ratified the tentative agreement before the council vote, and councilors approved the contract by roll call.

Votes recorded in the meeting minutes: the ARPA reallocation measure passed with a majority roll-call vote (six in favor, one opposed) and the MEUI supervisors agreement passed unanimously. The comptroller noted that the reallocation was a bookkeeping approach that does not increase the project’s total cost but redistributes prior obligations to meet Treasury expenditure deadlines.

The council approved several additional routine appointments and consent items later in the evening.