# Sturbridge police picket prior to town meeting



## firefighter39 (Apr 10, 2006)

*Firefighters pact, sewer funds OK'd*

Sturbridge police picket prior to town meeting

*By James F. Russell CORRESPONDENT
*
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STURBRIDGE- *Without debate, town meeting unanimously approved money to pay for a new firefighters contract, and to borrow an additional $350,000 to extend town sewer.

Meanwhile, police officers - without a contract since July 2005 - picketed outside Tantasqua Regional High School prior to last night's meeting.

Police Sgt. Michael K. Blanchard, a member of the Sturbridge force since 2002, said the job action was necessary because "the town will not budge." Sgt. Blanchard was joined by several of his police brethren, who handed out leaflets and free coffee and doughnuts to residents heading into the 7 p.m. special town meeting yesterday. 

Joseph D. Lombardi, president of the Sturbridge Police Association, the bargaining unit representing the officers, said they are asking for state mediation to end the impasse. Officer Lombardi has been a member of the Sturbridge Police Department since 2001. The group is represented by Needham lawyer Timothy M. Burke.

Town Administrator James J. Malloy and Police Chief Thomas J. Ford III both declined to discuss the stalled contract talks last night.

During last night's town meeting, the 88 voters in attendance transferred $65,000 from free cash to the Fire Department salaries and wages account to pay salary increases totaling 12.5 percent, retroactive to 2002, and 3 percent increases for each of the next two years for the town's firefighters. The new contract expires June 30, 2009.

The $350,000 approved for the Woodside Circle and Westwood Drive sewer project yesterday is in addition to the $850,000 in borrowing approved at town meeting a year ago.

In other business, town meeting transferred from free cash:

•$60,000 to complete repairs at the public safety complex

•$30,000 to fortify the gasoline account

•$25,500 to fortify the heating oil account

•$15,000 to conduct an actuarial study related to health insurance costs paid to retirees

•$15,000 to pay additional workers' compensation and insurance costs

•$6,710 to pay for dam inspections mandated by the state

•$5,000 to conduct an engineering study on municipal land targeted for recreational use

•$3,200 to the Fire Department supply account

•$2,200 to publish and maintain property record cards on the town's Web site

According to Mr. Malloy, there was $1,325,933 in the free cash account at the start of the night, and $1,081,838 left after the appropriations were approved.

Voters rejected a measure that would have used $3,000 of free cash to install a sign near Joshua Hyde Library to advertise town-related events.

During the discussion, resident Timothy R. Bardsley, a member of the Federated Church of Sturbridge and Fiskdale, objected to the sign. He also said it was wrong for the town to ban the church from using the town square to erect its own signs, but Town Moderator Michael V. Caplette said that issue was off point.

After considerable discussion, town meeting adopted the provisions of a state law that would enable a member of a town board involved in an "adjudicatory hearing" to miss one of the hearings and still be eligible to vote on the matter - provided the member reviewed a recorded session of the missed meeting.









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## j809 (Jul 5, 2002)

Sturbridge is a f*cked up place.


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