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 Hampton Professional Firefighters Association, Local 2664, IAFF, 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)
2020 (39 weeks) $ 87,623
2021 (52 weeks) $118,455
2022 (52 weeks) $125,166
2023 (13 weeks) $ 29,054
And to further raise and appropriate $87,623 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: This Article provides a 2.8% salary increase, in line with the federally defined cost of living in 2019, meaning that Hampton Firefighter’s salaries will keep pace with inflation.
Those in favor say: There is a scarcity of young people coming into the workforce with qualifications to fill firefighter and fire supervisor positions. Hampton has needed to run more than one hiring process to find qualified candidates. Frequently, professionals are accepting positions in other communities because our pay increases have been less reliable (get voted down frequently) versus surrounding municipalities in New Hampshire and coastal Massachusetts. If we want to attract and maintain good people, we need to pay them at a level that is consistent with surrounding communities. For example,
- Dover’s firefighters have a CPI-based COLA with a range of 2-4%. In 2018 they received a 3.2% increase, and in 2019 it was 2.8%.
- North Hampton’s firefighters have a CPI-based COLA with a range of 2-4%.
- Rye’s firefighters have a 2.75% proposed increase for each of the next 3 years. In 2019, they received a 3.4%.
Those opposed say: No one spoke against this Article at Deliberative Session.
Fiscal impact: If Article 16 is approved, it will create an additional tax cost of $9.20 for a Hampton home valued at $400,000 in the current fiscal year, and a maximum of $13.14 per year during the contract period. Take your property value divided by 1000 times .023 to get your cost.