Seymour Officials Want Input On Town Contracts

The town is starting negotiations for three employee union contracts — and some officials are worried about what that could mean for future budgets. 

So a group of Republicans on the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen have asked First Selectman Paul Roy to form a bipartisan committee to oversee the negotiations and help make sure the town gets a good deal.

The town of Seymour must be more careful than ever about the contracts it enters into,” said Board of Finance Chairman Mark Thompson during the Board of Selectmen meeting last week. 

Thompson read from a letter penned by the Board of Finance members and signed by other Republicans in town, saying that contracted increases in salaries and benefits often dictate increases in the town’s budget.

The town is working out contracts for the town hall supervisors, town hall employees and the public works department, Roy said. New contracts are scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2010. 

Roy and the town’s labor attorney are the parties representing the town in the negotiations.

We can take comments or advice from other individuals,” Roy said. But we are the actual people who sit down at the table to negotiate. One thing you’ve got to understand with the negotiations, if I were to bring five or six people to sit in on the negotiations, the union can bring in the same amount of people.”

Thompson said the group wouldn’t necessarily sit in on the talks, but would set priorities for the town to consider while negotiating the contracts.

Roy said he he had no problem with the committee, and said he would talk with Thompson to get more information about what he wanted. 

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