Shall the Town of Hampton vote to approve the cost items included in the Collective Bargaining Agreement reached between the Hampton Board of Selectmen and with the Teamsters Local 633, which calls for the following increases in salaries and benefits at current staffing levels, over the amount paid in the prior fiscal year:
Estimated Increase (over previous year level)
2021 (39 weeks) $47,532
2022 (52 weeks) $50,809
2023 (52 weeks) $46,221
2024 (13 weeks) $ 9,301
And to further raise and appropriate $47,532 for the current fiscal year, such sum representing the additional costs attributable to the increase in salaries and benefits required by the new agreement over those that would be paid at current staffing levels? (Majority vote required)
What it Means: Article 12 would increase salaries by 1.4% in 2021; 1.9% in 2022 and 2.0% in 2023 for the following represented positions.
At the Hampton Police Department: two Senior Secretary Positions, the Communications Specialist Supervisor, Communications Specialists, the Animal Control Officer and the Senior Custodian.
At the Public Works Department: Public Works Foreman, Public Works Operations Coordinator, Public Works Transfer Station Foreman and Vehicle Maintenance
At the Town Office: the Assistant Building Inspector, the Building Department Secretary, the Deputy Town Clerk, Assistant Clerks and the Bookkeeper in the Town Clerk’s Office, the Welfare Clerk, the Deputy Tax Collector, the Account Payable and Account Receivable Clerks and the Payroll Supervisor in the Finance Department.
Those in favor say: The employees who will benefit from the passage of Article 12 are “behind the scenes” folks who help you register your car, license your dog and remove unwanted critters from your property.
Getting to competitive wages helps control costs, since the Town is not constantly having to go through repetitive hiring cycles. That not only costs the Town money that could be better invested in its employees, but high turnover also hampers the ability to build cross-department rapport, which is critical for the smooth functioning of the Town.
Those against say: No one spoke against Article 12 at Deliberative Session.
Fiscal impact: A household valued at $400,000 would see a tax increase of $5.20 in 2021, and an increase of $6.05 for the highest cost year in the contract period (2022), if Article 12 is approved. Cost per thousand dollars of valuation is 1.3 cents in 2021.