New firefighter contract approved

NORWALK — Council approved a new firefighter union contract following quick negotiations. Council met in their new chambers, the upstairs community room at the Ernsthausen Recreation Center. The contract negotiations started on Aug. 31 and were completed by Sept. 6, law director Stu O'Hara said, the quickest the city and union have reached an agreement. The three-year contract includes raises of 2% in 2022, 2.5% in 2023 and 2.5% in 2024. O'Hara said the raises are in line with averages of other cities the size of Norwalk. The health insurance in the contract is the same as other city employees. In the contract, some changes were made such as corrective action for discipline, which is now more specific and mirrors the police department's contract, O'Hara said. Other changes include grievance or arbitration procedures and tuition reimbursement to make the language more clear in the contract. Funeral leave was also adjusted in the contract to clarify the leave is for three consecutive calendar days and the employee is only paid if scheduled to work during the time. The city and union have also developed a memorandum of understanding to allow the terms of the new contract to take effect on Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2021, as the current contract expires at the end of the month. The new contract will start on Jan. 1, 2022, and will expire on Dec. 31, 2024. Both resolutions were passed by council. "I do want to compliment the firefighters who were involved in contract negotiations," O'Hara said. They were very professional, they were reliable. I think they deserve good credit for what they accomplished." Department promotions Mayor Dave Light introduced legislation requesting $48,700 for the cost of testing and assessments for promotions within the police and fire departments. Due to multiple promotions throughout the city this year in the general services, water treatment and wastewater treatment departments, the majority of the money allocated for civil service was used, Light said. Due to police Chief Mike Conney retiring in December and retirements from the fire department, there are eight positions the city will be testing for. The positions include police chief, police captain, police sergeant, an entry-level police officer, a fire captain, fire lieutenant and two entry-level firefighters. Light said applications for positions in both departments are lower than ever. Water main break On Tuesday, Norwalk experienced water main breaks on Milan and Grove avenues. Public works director Aaron Osborn said the city will need a water line project on Milan Avenue in 2022. He said he is hoping to use funds from the American Rescue Plan Act for the project, which Osborn said could cost $1 million. The 16-inch water main will be replaced from Laylin Road to Republic Street. Osborn said he will come to council soon with a supplemental to begin designing the project now so the project will be ready as soon as possible. "The American Rescue Plan money is for infrastructure," Osborn said. "I think it'll be beneficial because a lot of businesses are out there that affect the hotels and restaurants. When we have to shut that off, that's a large section of town."