BY VINAYA SAKSENA

CUMBERLAND — Town employees will likely have a new contract by the end of the day today, with the agreement expected to be signed over the course of the day by both the mayor and a union representative.
During a special meeting on Monday night, the town council voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Daniel McKee to enter into a contract with the Cumberland Town Employees’ Union. McKee said he would likely sign the contract today.

The agreement came after an unexpected delay last week. Union representatives were expected to meet with the town council in executive session when the council met on Wednesday. However, Council President James Higgins arrived late for the meeting, as did McKee, who said he had been attending a campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. On Monday night, Higgins apologized for not arriving at last week’s meeting on time and said he did not intend to delay the agreement, a sentiment echoed by the mayor.
“I believe they’re an asset to the community,” McKee said of union members. “And I believe this is a fair contract for both the town employees and the (citizens).”
According to McKee, the new contract contains some changes that reflect, among other things, tougher financial times for municipalities. The mayor said he, in conjunction with the union, had agreed to increased co-pays and small reductions in staff in the coming years.
McKee said that under the new agreement, employees’ healthcare co-pays will rise to the levels similar to those paid by police and rescue employees.
He added that if this agreement had not been reached, the co-pays would revert to previous levels- approximately $10 per week, compared with roughly twice as much now.
He said prescription contributions would remain the same. The mayor also said that the new contract would eliminate caps on the percentage of healthcare costs paid by employees, for those hired after the contract takes effect.
Furthermore, McKee said he wanted to reduce the number of town employees on the books. In the time since he was last in office, he said the number of employees had grown from 67 to 77.
The goal, he said, was to reduce the number by one employee per year over the next several years.
“We may find we can reduce it even (more) sharply than that,” the mayor said. “We do have the authority to lay off.”
However, McKee made it clear that it was not his intention to do so if he could avoid it. He said he had discussed the matter with the union, and hoped to make reductions via attrition.
He pointed out, for example, that a clerk in the assessors’ office had left in the first quarter of the fiscal year, and that the position would not be filled.
McKee said the employee’s responsibilities would likely be divided among other staffers.