SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board discussed and approved several collective bargaining-agreements Friday that included changes to the work conditions for Department of Public Works (DPW) employees, administrative professionals, library workers, and police officers.
The board ratified all of the proposed agreements, which will now go to Town Meeting for approval.
The DPW has 16 full-time members, and Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald proposed increased stipends for those with a D-2 License and added stipends for D-1 and Class A.
The agreement also includes major enhancements such as automated time clocks and GPS devices in all town vehicles.
For administrative professionals, including five full-time employees and one part-time employee, the agreement added a stipend for a notary public at $400-a-person annually, totaling $800 a year for the two.
Other agreement changes pertaining to the DPW include the elimination of sick incentives, with an estimated $12,000 savings; elimination of personal-day incentives for a savings of $7,500; elimination of automatic 7.5-hour holidays for a $3,000 savings; and the elimination of the fourth personal day, saving $3,000.
The agreement pertaining to library workers covers four full-time and 12 part-time employees. It includes a $750 bonus upon ratification, and on July 1, which will cost $24,000.
Major enhancements also include the elimination of sick incentives, saving $16,000; the elimination of the fourth personal day, saving $8,000; and all members following the same vacation and longevity schedule.
The agreement for police personnel covers 33 full-time members and three vacancies. It includes an added annual stipend for body cameras at $1,000 per member each year; a pandemic response bonus of $1,500 per member; and improved stipend pay between $1,200 to $5,300.
It also includes stipend raises for those with degrees, with associate degree stipends going from $2,750 to $2,900; bachelor’s degree stipends increased from $5,750 to $5,950; and a master’s degree stipend from $6,750 to $7,000.
“Swampscott’s public employees, and especially the members of our collective-bargaining units, have really worked hard over the last few years protecting Swampscott during the pandemic,” Fitzgerald said. “The contracts are important and they recognize the extraordinary contributions that the men and women who work for the town made, but they also continue to reinforce how important public service is in all of these positions.”
Fitzgerald said the board was very grateful for all of the work contributed by all participants. He said successes Swampscott has enjoyed in the last few years are a direct correlation between hard staff work and hard work by members of the collective bargaining units.
