NASHUA – Despite a 15-0 vote of approval from Board of Aldermen members on Dec. 23, Mayor Jim Donchess vetoed to the civilian contract submitted by the Police Commission.

The union contract is set to be considered again during a special board meeting, set for 7 p.m. today in the Aldermanic Chamber of City Hall, 229 Main St.

During the Dec. 23 meeting, board members passed a separate police contract, a supervisors’ contract, which is Resolution 19-194. The mayor allowed the supervisors’ contract become law without his signature.

Today’s board session will specifically focus on Resolution 18-102. Attached to the meeting agenda is the mayor’s veto message. In that message, Donchess emphasizes that in his combined 11 years serving as mayor, he has vetoed only two BOA actions.

“My aim has always been to work with the board unless the action taken is not in my analysis in the best interests of our taxpayers or our citizens,” Donchess states in his message.

While keeping in mind the service that all employees of Nashua Police Department provide to the city, Donchess said he is issuing this veto to defend taxpayers. Both contracts include multiple 3% raises, which exceed the 2% cost of living allowance. With concerns that these raises come at a time when city health care costs are rapidly increasing, the mayor believes agreeing to a sequence of 3% pay hikes for two unions creates a “troublesome precedent” for other city negotiations.

Donchess also believes increasing wages by 3% per year will build budgets that are not sustainable. The mayor said he would veto this civilian contract because, in his opinion, it is the more objectionable of the two contracts.

“First, the amended version of the civilian contract has upped total raises to 11.25% over four years, while the original version submitted to the Board of Aldermen included raises of only 9.5%,” Donchess states. “Second, the civilian contract expands the city’s unused sick leave obligation.”

This contract expands the sick leave buyout for the first time, through which employees will get paid sick time as long as they have a certain amount of time with the city, if they resign, but do not retire. During the Dec. 23 board meeting when members approved both contracts, Nashua Police Chief Michael Carignan said this is after 15 years of service, while other unions in the city have 10 years of service, and that this currently reflects one person.

Also, during that meeting Deputy Chief James Testaverde said the department is short by 18 officers, which is about 20% of the patrol force. In his veto message, Donchess acknowledges that the police department is down uniformed police officers, and said the department has suggested that pay may be part of the reason. This contract would boost pay, although Donchess said every dollar directed to raises for these civilian employees is one less dollar that can be used to hire and keep uniformed police officers.

“If inadequate pay for uniformed police officers is a reason that the police department is not at full complement, then providing above the cost of living wages to civilian employees does not help, but hurts in solving this problem,” Donchess states.

The cost of health care for city employees is rising 20% – or $6 million – during two years. For fiscal year 2020, the increase is $3.3 million – or 11% – for a total health care budget of $33 million. The city’s analysts project these costs for next year (fiscal year 2021) to increase an additional 8.6%, amounting to $2.9 million more in costs. This would then raise the city’s total health care budget to about $36 million.

“I believe city government must take the rising costs of health care into account in considering long-term union contracts in order to keep tax rate increases to a level that Nashuans can afford,” Donchess states.

Donchess wants board members to consider limiting raises to the cost of living, or 2% per year. The contract he vetoed is a four-year agreement that grants a series of 3% annual raises. The contract covers attorneys, information technology staff and other employees. The mayor said that when the Police Commission first submitted this contract to board members, it included wage increases of 9.5% through four years. Donchess said the union agreed to this.

Just before the November municipal election when board members first voted on the civilian contract, Donchess asked them to reject it because it included an expansion of the unfunded obligation to pay cash for unused sick time. At the time, the board did not approve the contract.

When the Police Commission resubmitted the contract to the board, Donchess said the commission did not simply remove the unused sick time buyout provisions as requested. Instead, commission officials hiked the total wage increase from 9.5% to 11.25%, including 3% wage increases in years two, three, and four of the agreement.

“This was not a reasonable response to the Board of Aldermen’s decision to refuse to create more unfunded obligations for the city,” Donchess states.

Adam Urquhart may be contacted at 594-1206, or at aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.

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