Finance Committee backs $100,000 transfer to cover one-year firefighter contract

The Brockton Finance Committee on Dec. 1 voted to recommend favorably an order transferring $100,000 from human-resources benefits to fire personal services to fund a one-year collective-bargaining agreement with the city's firefighters.

Mayor Robert Sullivan urged committee support and described the local firefighters as "brave men and women" who choose to represent Brockton. CFO Troy Clarkson explained the memorandum of agreement included in meeting materials and told the committee the wage increase negotiated with the union was "1 and a half percent," a one-year term designed to give the city time for longer-range financial planning.

Clarkson said much of the contract's cost will take effect Jan. 1 and that the budget already contains funding tied to vacancies in the fire budget to partially cover the increase. The committee moved and approved a recommendation in favor of the transfer; the next step is a vote by the full City Council.