West Haven Council OKs Allingtown firefighters contract; laborers pact takes effect by default

Sept. 12--WEST HAVEN -- Two key labor contracts giving employees 2 percent raises are set to go into effect -- one, for Allingtown firefighters, after garnering overwhelming City Council approval; the other, for city laborers, by default after a split council failed either to approve or deny it.

The council began a special meeting Wednesday night by approving a long-delayed four-year contract for the City of West Haven -- Allingtown Fire Department, giving the 20 members of the former Allingtown Fire Department 2 percent raises each year, including one year of retroactive raises.

The vote was nine in favor, with three abstentions. One member, Councilman Stephen DeCrescenzo, D-At Large, was absent.

The union previously ratified the contract -- the department's first since being absorbed by the city -- by a 19-1 margin. The City Council previously approved a tentative agreement Jan. 8, but that agreement didn't include all the details that since have been worked out, officials have said.

Fire department union representative Chris Hawes of West Haven Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 1198 said the contract will give firefighters their first raises in more than two years.

"The city and the union both worked hard to get this done," Hawes said. He pointed out that while firefighters are getting raises, they're also shouldering increases in both pension and medical insurance contributions.

"We're glad to have it done," he said.

Allingtown Fire Chief Peter Massaro said the contract was "a long, dragged-out thing. I'm glad it's over," he said. "Now, we can go forward."

While the Allingtown contract sailed through the council, a contract for Local 681 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 91 public works and parks and recreation maintenance laborers and Police Department civilian employees, went nowhere.

A motion to approve it failed by a 5-5 vote, with council members Ralph Eberle, D-3, and Tracy Morrissey, D-8, abstaining, and DeCrescenzo absent. There was no subsequent motion to deny it.

Because the council neither approved nor denied it, the contract goes into effect by default, according to state statute and council rules, council Finance Committee Chairwoman Nancy Rossi, D-7, and Corporation Counsel Vincent Amendola said.

Union members previously approved it by a 67-24 vote.

The three-year contract also will provide 2 percent raises each year, including one year of retroactive raises.

The deadline to take it up again would have been midnight Thursday, but the council had no time to legally post a new meeting, Rossi said Thursday.

The failure to act frustrated Mayor Ed O'Brien, who did not attend the meeting.

"It just boggles the mind" that one contract "just sailed right through," while the other didn't, O'Brien said Thursday. "It just makes no sense."

He pointed out that at the time council members voted they did not know that the contract would go into effect by default.

As far as they knew, voting against it meant that "we're going to go to arbitration," O'Brien said, "and every legal person I know says" that if the city went to arbitration, "we're going to lose and they're going to get the same thing, anyway -- and it's still going to cost us $60,000" in legal fees.

One sticking point for some council members, including Rossi, Councilman David Riccio, R-At Large, and Councilman Michael Last, D-9, was the retroactive raise, which will cost the city more than $100,000 in this fiscal year.

"Can we afford this contract?" asked Last. "Can we approve this contract and not come out of next fiscal year with a deficit?"

Rossi said later that, by her count, West Haven only has about $500,000 in its fund balance and she did not feel comfortable spending such a large chunk of it on retroactive raises.

Labor attorney Christopher M. Hodgson told the council that retroactive raises are common.

The city has asked several of its unions, including Local 681, a number of times in the past to forgo raises, most recently on July 1, 2013.

Rossi and Last voted against the contract, along with council members Riccio, Mitchell Gallignano, D-4, and Brent Watt, D-5.

Those voting in favor included Sean Ronan, D-At Large, Nick Ruickoldt, D-2, James O'Brien, D-6, Gail Burns, D-10, and Chairman Nick Pascale, D-1, with Eberle and Morrissey abstaining.

Eberle said he abstained because he never received the contract and hadn't read it all the way through. Morrissey left immediately after the meeting.

Council members spent a fair chunk of the meeting discussing ways to reduce overtime. Commissioner of Human Resources Beth Sabo told the council that, among other things, the city is exploring shift adjustments that might schedule employees to be on regular shifts rather than overtime when evening or weekend events occur.

Sabo also told the council that much of what drives overtime besides winter storm costs are things like concerts.

"If you want to save money, you cut back on concerts," Sabo said. "Maybe you just have two large concerts instead of 10 or 12" smaller ones.

After the meeting, Sabo pointed out that Hamden only has three or four big public concerts each summer, rather than a smaller one every week.

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