New London — Ending more than a year of an often contentious series of negotiations, New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio and local police union President Todd Lynch on Friday signed a tentative agreement for a new police contract.

The proposed contract includes a phased series of raises through 2016: two 1 percent raises in the current fiscal year and two 1.5 percent raises by Jan. 1, 2016.

No raise is included for the 2013-14 fiscal year, the year without a contract, which Finizio said avoids a major impact on the budget from retroactive payments.

In a separate settlement negotiated by Finizio and Lynch, the city’ personnel administrator has signed off on an agreement that eliminates most of the more than 50 union grievances dating back to 2012, some of which were responses to actions taken by currently suspended Police Chief Margaret Ackley.

Finizio said the settlement potentially saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation costs and “gets us started on a fresh footing.” Some of the grievances were withdrawn and others were settled with the granting of compensation payments.

Finizio took over negotiations for the contract and for grievances in the spring, when the union and city came to an impasse and arbitration seemed likely. Ackley was sidelined from negotiations at that time, something the union said helped to revive talks.

The relationship between the union and Ackley became so acrimonious at times that in December, Ackley filed a workplace violence complaint against union attorney Eric Brown, claiming he verbally assaulted her in a threatening manner at the police station. She asked for him to be banned from all municipal buildings in the city.

Finizio earlier this year considered hiring an independent mediator to handle the union disputes, saying at the time he had hoped to remove some of the personalities and politics out of the equation.

The union claimed the deteriorating relationship with the chief had led to low morale and the exodus of numerous officers seeking jobs in other towns. The tentative contract addresses the issue and includes a three-year commitment requirement for all new hires, which Finizio said was a priority. It costs the city roughly $100,000 from the start of the police recruitment progress until they are a trained officer, Lynch said.

“It’s a positive step for retention of these officers … who will hopefully choose to spend their entire careers here,” Finizio said.

The proposed contract includes a switch in the work schedule to include intermittent three-day off periods. The schedule will call for five days on, two days off, followed by five days on and three days off.

If the contract is approved, it also will end the practice of large payouts to retiring officers. The proposed contract includes a retirement leave policy that limits large sum payouts of accrued time. Instead, a departing officer will be limited to a $30,000 payout and remain on the city’s payroll with medical benefits, vacation and holiday time until the rest of the officer’s accrued time is exhausted.

The tentative agreement was signed Friday at Hanafin’s Irish Pub, where the mayor bought beer for the off-duty officers present. Lynch said the free drinks were part of a challenge from the mayor about getting an agreement signed.

The union is expected to vote on the proposed contract sometime next week. Final approval comes with a vote by the City Council.

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay