Mayor casts deciding vote for police contract

LACONIA — The City Council last night approved the collective bargaining agreement negotiated with the Laconia Police Officers Association by the Police Commission as Mayor Ed Engler cast the deciding vote when the councilors divided evenly for and against the contract.

With councilors Henry Lipman (Ward 3) and Ava Doyle (Ward 1) absent, councilors David Bownes (Ward 2) and Brenda Baer (Ward 4) voted to approve the contract while councilors Bob Hamel (Ward 5) and Armand Bolduc (Ward 6) dissented. Two weeks ago, after appearing preparing to approve the agreement, the council unanimously rejected it. Last night, before the vote, City Manager Scott Myers, when questioned by Bownes assured the councilors that three items in the agreement had been adjusted.

The compensation and benefits provided by the contract with the police mirrors those the City Council awarded to city employees who are not members of a union as well as those of contracts with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 534, which represents some 15 non-managerial employees at the Department of Public Works, and the Local Professional Firefighters, Local 1153 of the International Association of Firefighters already approved.

The agreements are for three years. Employees will receive cost of living adjustments of 2 percent, 2.25 percent and 2.5 percent in each year of the contract. Employees will no longer have a choice between two health care plans. The so-called "HMO High" plan, which has a $500 deductible and $10 office visit copay and requires a 15 percent premium contribution from employees, has been eliminated. The so-called "HMO Low" plan, with a $2,000 deductible and $20 copay, remains.

While employees have contributed 6 percent to the premium of the "HMO Low" plan, under the new contracts they contribute 8 percent the first year, 9 percent the second year and 10 percent the third year. The wages of employees will be supplemented by an annual payment of $250 in each of the next three years and the city will contribute $1,000 to the Health Reimbursement Account of each to be applied against their deductibles. Any unused funds may be carried forward to subsequent years.

The contracts also include language to forestall liability for the so-called "Cadillac Tax," a 40-percent federal levy on the value of health insurance benefits exceeding specific thresholds — $10,200 for an individual and $27,500 for a family — imposed on January 1, 2018 by the Affordable Care Act. The city and the unions agreed that if new contracts are not agreed when the current contracts expire, steps must be taken to ensure that the cost of health insurance is below the thresholds. The contracts require the city and unions to either negotiate a health insurance plan or accept a plan reached through binding arbitration that makes the minimal changes to benefits required to keep the cost below the threshold.

Negotiations with the State Employees Association, Local 1984 of the Service Employees International Union, representing employees at the Department of Public Works, have reached impasse. Myers said that the city and the union are awaiting the report of a neutral fact finder, who will consider the differences between the two and make recommendations for resolving them.

Neil Smith of the SEA, who is negotiating on behalf of the employees, said that the differences turn on the amount and duration of the city's contribution to the Health Reimbursement Account. Stressing that he represents relatively lower wage employees, he said that the amount of the contribution is the same for all employees regardless of how much they earn, but the impact of the higher deductible weighs most heavily on those earning the least. Moreover, he said that contribution expires with the contract in three years with no assurance that the city would be willing to include it in a subsequent agreement.