Led by Chair Maryanne Peabody, at its Jan. 7 meeting the Personnel Board addressed updates to the town’s personnel bylaws and wage classification plans and discussed a grievance with the firefighters’ union (International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1978).
The board entered into an executive session shortly after opening the meeting to address a grievance filed by the union local. In attendance were Town Manager Michael McCall, Human Resources Manager Katherine Ryan, and representatives of the firefighters’ union. The closed session lasted approximately one hour. No details about the grievance were disclosed.
The board reviewed proposed updates to “Article O”, the temporary designation of the annual Town Meeting article on personnel bylaws and the wage and salary classification plan. Ryan provided an overview of proposed changes to the plan. The wage scale for members of AFSCME, the union representing many town government employees, referred to as the “G Scale,” will undergo a final year of a three-year market adjustment agreement, with a 3.4% pay increase for Fiscal Year 2026.
Additionally, union members will receive a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The non-union wage scale will reflect the same 3.4% market adjustment and 2.5% COLA, following past practices of aligning non-union employees with the AFSCME wage union. Negotiations with the firefighters’ union are ongoing, so pay changes for its members are pending.
The reclassification of certain roles was discussed, including the human resources assistant, which has been upgraded to a benefits coordinator with expanded responsibilities to centralize benefits management across the town and school departments. Similarly, a sustainability manager role was revised to sustainability coordinator.
To address the time constraints and uncertainties surrounding final budget numbers, Personnel Board member Jill Zukerman proposed a motion to approve Article O with the provision that the Finance Committee may make adjustments as necessary. The motion was seconded by member Mary Ellen Castagno and approved unanimously.
The next Personnel Board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m.
