New London — The City Council this week approved tentative contracts with the police and fire department in which employees will receive 2.5 percent wage increases for the current fiscal year.

The tentative agreement with police is for one year, shorter than usual, in recognition that the city’s new administration has been in office for just six months prior to the June 30 expiration of the last contract, according to local police union President Todd Lynch.

“The city is in difficult financial times and we wanted to give the new administration some time to get their feet on the ground,” he said.

The 2.5 percent increase will boost starting pay for a police officer from $60,234 to $61,739.

The last contract, a three-year agreement, was signed in 2014 by then Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio following a year without a contract and had included a phased-in series of raises and a change to schedules that included an an extra day off every two weeks for patrol officers.

The financial impact of the new agreement was not immediately available.

The city and fire department union tentatively have agreed on a two-year contract that calls for a 2.5 percent raise in the first year and a 2 percent raise in the second year of the contract. The agreement calls for a 1.5 percent increase in insurance cost to employees in the first year and 1 percent in the second year.

The major change for firefighters is a shift in the schedule to a 24 hours on, 72 hours off work schedule versus a schedule where firefighters worked four 10-hour day shifts and four 14-hour night shifts in a two-week period.

Mayor Michael Passero, a former firefighter and labor attorney, said there is some evidence the schedule change leads to less overtime costs because of decrease in use of personal days off. A clause in the proposed contract would allow the city to change back to the old schedule if the new one leads to increased costs.

In general, Passero said, “I believe we have fair agreements with minimal impact to the city’s budget.”

The city’s negotiating team included Chief Administrative Officer Steve Field and Personnel Administrator Tina Collins.

“It seemed to me the parties had some healthy negotiations and came up with fair agreements on both sides,” Passero said.

Local fire union President Rocco Basilica called the contract a "positive for both the city and the local 1522."

Lynch said the agreement with police received overwhelming support — a 32 to 7 vote — by the union body.

Not all were happy with the agreement, according to attorney Elizabeth Sabilia, who said she represents three of the police department’s four detectives.

She approached the City Council on Monday asking for a more open negotiation process that would allow detectives to discuss their own priorities, specifically what she called “large inequities in pay for detectives,” whose base pay starts at $74,987 and caps at $75,667.

She also called the measure in the contract allowing for a take-home vehicle for detectives unnecessary and something the detectives had not asked for.

Lynch said the proper forum to discuss the complaints was at union meetings and not with the City Council.

“Overwhelmingly the members think that having a take-home car is at the very least a perk,” Lynch said. “Everyone that I represent I try to do the best I can for."

g.smith@theday.com