Selectmen approve sending three-year police contract to voters with 3.5%–4% raises

The Milford Board of Selectmen on Monday voted to accept terms of a proposed three-year AFSCME police contract and to place the agreement on the town warrant for voter approval.

Town Administrator Laurie Radke outlined the key terms during the meeting, saying, “the contract is for the years 26, 27, 28, coming in at 3.5% for '26, 3.5 for '27, and 4% for '28.” The presentation covered wages, stipend and benefit language, overtime and detail-pay rules, and field-training compensation.

The agreement sets education and military incentives that negotiating staff described as layered stipends: an associate degree would trigger a $1,000-per-year stipend, a bachelor’s degree $2,000, a master’s $2,500, and military service would add roughly $1,000 in most cases. Under the proposed contract, differential pay for late and overnight shifts was adjusted and the minimum external-detail rate was clarified to $60 per hour. Field training moved away from a flat annual stipend toward hourly pay for time actually spent training.

Board members probed budget impacts and how the contract would be funded. Radke pointed to the warrant document for the fiscal summary; staff said the first-year net additional cost for wages and benefits is identified in the warrant (board packet) and will be incorporated in the default budget process. A board discussion centered on how those increases will flow into department budgets and what would happen if the warrant article fails at town meeting.

Selectman Dave Frio made the motion to accept the agreement for placement on the warrant; it was seconded by Selectman Philbrick. The motion carried by voice vote. The contract will be voted on by Milford residents as a warrant article; if approved by voters, the raises and other changes would take effect per the contract schedule.

What happens next: staff will publish a clean copy of the contract on the town website and the matter will appear on the town warrant and voter guide. The board and finance staff said they will include line-item cost breakdowns to show how the contract affects department budgets and the default budget calculation.