Delegation approves budget that funds union pay hikes

LACONIA — The Belknap County Legislative Delegation approved a $30.8 million 2020 budget on Monday night, with the amount to be raised by taxes at $14.7 million, the same as last year.

The budget includes money for new collective bargaining agreements with the county’s nursing, sheriff’s and corrections staff.

Under the new contracts, sheriff’s deputy pay scales improve from $21.62-$29.96 to $23.64-$32.72; licensed nursing assistants go from $12.26-$16.98 to $12.76-$21.82; and correctional officers go from $17.95-$24.58 to $18.49-$31.62.

The corrections contract expired Dec. 31, 2017; the nursing home contract expired Dec. 31, 2018; and the contract for sheriff’s deputies expired Dec. 31, 2018.

Debra Shackett, spokeswoman for Belknap County, said that, under the contracts, employees will begin to pay for some of their health insurance costs, topping out at 10 percent in the third year of the contracts. While there are pay increases, there are no separate cost-of-living adjustments.

While funding the collective bargaining agreements, the delegation rejected requests from Belknap County Commissioners for an additional $172,450 for nursing home wages and an additional $68,280 for corrections wages.

Employee turnover has decreased, meaning payroll costs will increase compared to last year, hence the request for additional money, Shackett said.

“In the nursing home at one time, we had 21 full-time positions open,” Shackett said. “Some had not been filled for a year.”

Optimism surrounding collective bargaining agreements and better pay scales has improved recruitment and retention, she said.

Rep. Charlie St. Clair, D-Laconia, said he would have preferred fulfilling the commissioners’ request.

“I just thought it would be a lot simpler now rather than having to call for a meeting [on a supplemental appropriation] later,” he said. “If we moved it now, and they didn’t use it, it would just go to the fund balance.”

The fund balance is a kind of reserve fund that can be used to decrease taxes. There is $5 million in the fund now, up from just $1.5 million a couple years ago. Bond rating agencies have downgraded the county in the past for insufficient reserves, and an incremental improvement has now occurred given the healthier balance.

Bond ratings are important because they affect how much interest the county pays on borrowing.

Rep. Timothy Lang, R-Sanbornton, said it is possible existing funding will be adequate, or that unused money could be found elsewhere in the budget. If not, the delegation could still draw from the fund balance to make up for any shortfall in money for the payrolls for corrections or nursing.