FOR THE RECORD MY NAME IS BRIAN WERE L DISTRICT FOR CITY COUNCILOR AND I'M THE CHAIR OF THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS TODAY IS FEBRUARY
24TH, 2025 IT IS 1:03 P.M. THIS HEARING IS BEING RECORDED IS ALSO BEING LIVESTREAMED AT BOSTON DOT GOV. BACKSLASH CITY DASH CAM ALSO
DASH TV AND BROADCAST ON EXTENDED CHANNEL EIGHT RC AND CHANNEL A2 AND FILES CHANNEL 964 WRITTEN COMMENTS MAY BE
SENT TO THE COMMITTEE EMAIL AS C W M AT BOSTON ARCHIVE. IT WILL BE MADE PART OF THE RECORD AND AVAILABLE TO OUR COUNCILORS. PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL BE TAKEN
AT THE END OF THIS HEARING INDIVIDUALS WILL BE CALLED ON IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY SIGNED UP. THEY WILL HAVE 2 MINUTES TO TESTIFY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TESTIFYING TESTIFYING IN PERSON PLEASE PLEASE ADD YOUR
NAME TO THE SIGNUP SHEET NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF THE CHAMBER. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO TESTIFY VIRTUALLY PLEASE EMAIL OUR CENTRAL STAFF LIAISON KARISMA
CHOHAN AT K R ICE AGE AND A DOT C H0UH AND AT BOSTON.COM FOR THE LINK YOUR NAME WILL BE ADDED TO THE LIST. TODAY'S HEARING IS ON DOCKET
NUMBER 0237 MESSAGE IN ORDER FOR YOUR APPROVAL IN ORDER TO REDUCE TO FY 25 APPROPRIATION FOR THE RESERVE FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BY $128,700 TO
PROVIDE FOR FUNDING FOR THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE FY FY 25 INCREASES CONTAINED WITHIN THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF BOSTON AND BPD B B
S FORENSIC GROUP DOCKET NUMBER 0238 MESSAGE IN ORDER FOR A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION ORDER FOR THE FY 25 APPROPRIATION FOR THE RESERVE
FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BY $128,700 TO COVER THE FBI 25 COSTS ITEMS CONTAINED WITHIN THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF BOSTON AND THE BP.
BP DPS FORENSIC GROUP. THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACTS ARE OCTOBER 1ST 2023 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH 2027. THE MAJOR PROVISIONS OF THE CONTRACT INCLUDE A MARKET
ADJUSTMENT TO BASE WAGES IN FY 25 AS WELL AS BASE WAGE INCREASE OF 2% TO BE GIVEN IN JANUARY 2026 AND 2027 AND FLAT
AMOUNTS OF $900 AND $800 TO BE ADDED ANNUAL SALARIES IN JANUARY 2026 AND 2027 AFTER THE PERCENT INCREASES THESE MATTERS AS PASSED BY MAYOR MICHELLE WU
AND REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON JANUARY 15, 2025 HAVE BEEN JOINED BY MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AND ORDER ARRIVAL
COUNCILOR MURPHY COUNCIL PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE AND ALSO THE VICE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE COUNCILOR PEPEN WE HAVE RECEIVED A LETTER OF ABSENCE FROM COUNCILOR FLYNN .
I'D LIKE TO NOW INTRODUCE TODAY'S PANELISTS TESTIFYING ON BEHALF OF THE ADMINISTRATION BUDGET DIRECTOR BUDGET DIRECTOR WILLIAMSON, DIRECTOR OF LABOR RELATIONS DIRECTOR BUSHY
ASSISTANT CORPORATION COUNCILOR FOR THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFER LABOR RELATIONS MR WILTON AND THEN WE HAVE DEPUTY SUPER INTENDED FOR
BPD OFFICE OF LABOR RELATIONS RICHARD DE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT DAY OF THE FLOOR IS NOW YOURS. THANK YOU CHAIR WE'RE ALL IN OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CITY
COUNCIL. MY NAME IS JIM WILLIAMSON. I'M THE BUDGET DIRECTOR OF THE CITY OF BOSTON AND LIKE MYSELF MY COLLEAGUES APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS UNION CONTRACT AND ITS IMPACT
ON THE CITY'S BUDGET. I'M HERE TO ADDRESS THE TWO APPROPRIATION ORDERS FOR YOU AND THE TRANSACTIONS THEY REPRESENT AND TO THE LABOR TEAM I CAN SPEAK TO THE TERMS OF THE
CONTRACT BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT IT TARGETS 02370238 BASICALLY TRANSACT $129,000 FROM THE
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RESERVE INTO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET THE FBI 25 BUDGET WHICH WAS FINALIZED IN JUNE 2024
INCLUDED $96.8 MILLION IN AGGREGATE TO COVER VARIOUS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RESERVES. THERE'S BEEN 15 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS THAT HAVE
BEEN PUT BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL THIS FISCAL YEAR TOTALING $13.7 MILLION WITH THIS REDUCTION OF $129,000 FOR THIS UNION, THE NEW BALANCE
OF THE PARK 25 RESERVE WILL BE $3 MILLION BUT I WILL GOOD AFTERNOON RENEE BUSHEY FOR OYLER.
YEAH, WE'RE VERY PLEASED TO HAVE REACHED AN AGREEMENT WITH THIS GROUP OF APPROXIMATELY 33 POSITIONS AT PPD IN THE FORENSICS GROUP.
THIS CONTRACT IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN MOST THE OTHER ONES THAT WE HAVE DONE IN THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOME BENCHMARKING AND START WITH A
NEW SALARY SCALE WHICH WILL BE EFFECTIVE 30 DAYS AFTER THIS HAS BEEN FUNDED. SO EACH OF THE EMPLOYEES IN THE UNIT THINK THE AVERAGE INCREASE
FOR THIS DEBT PLACEMENTS WAS $4,700 THAT THEY WILL BE PLACED ON AS SOON AS THE 30 DAYS AFTER THIS AGREEMENT IS APPROVED. SO THAT'S A REALLY NICE
INCREASE FOR ALL THESE EMPLOYEES AND WE WERE HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO GET THE PROJECT APPROVAL AND COME TO AGREEMENT ON THAT. AS FAR AS THE REST OF THE AGREEMENT, WELL THAT GIVES THEM
BOTH AN INCREASE IN THE STEPS AND WE WERE ABLE TO IN THE SCALES IS LIKE HIGHER NUMBERS THAT THEY CAN GO TO AS WELL. SO BOTH IMMEDIATE AND LONG TERM
I THINK THAT'S VERY HELPFUL PAY SCALES FOR THIS VERY HIGHLY SKILLED EMPLOYEES SCIENTIFIC SKILLS AND THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, DEMAND TO GET THESE POSITIONS FILLED SO THAT WAS THAT WAS THE
MOST I THINK DIFFERENT FROM OTHER CONTRACTS THAT WE'VE DONE AND WE'RE YOU KNOW, WE WERE HAPPY TO COME TO AGREEMENT ON THAT. SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS WE'VE AGREED TO WERE SIMILAR TO OTHER
CONTRACTS WHERE WE PROVIDED SICK LEAVE AND BEREAVEMENT TO PROMOTE PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES ON THE DEPARTMENT'S SIDE SINCE IT IS SUCH A HIGHLY SKILLED
POSITION WE LENGTHENED OUT THE PROBATIONARY PERIOD TO 12 MONTHS FOR THESE EMPLOYEES. WE ALSO GOT SOME CHANGES TO THE MANAGEMENT RIGHTS CLAUSE AND
MADE THE CALL SYSTEM A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE FOR THE DEPARTMENT BUT THIS IS A PREVIOUS WE WANT TO KNOW JOHN
WILTON FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. THESE ARE PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES. THEY'RE SCIENTISTS. AS AS DIRECTOR BUSHEY STATED, MANY HOLD ADVANCED DEGREES.
THEY DO VERY IMPORTANT WORK FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND THE DEPARTMENT IS VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT THEY DO. WE'RE QUITE HAPPY WITH THIS
CONTRACT AND SO THAT THAT'S IT ALL SET. THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT COUNCILOR WEBER HAS JOINED US
NOW I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES FOR ANY QUESTIONS STARTING WITH COUNCILOR MURPHY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS
MODIFIED LANGUAGE USE OF SICK LEAVE AND BEREAVEMENT AND THEN YOU TALKED ABOUT UPDATING THE SICK LEAVE POLICY IS IT THE CHANGES THAT WE SAW THAT CHANGED, RENEE, IN THE LAST FEW
CONTRACTS ABOUT THE CHANGES ACROSS THE BOARD FOR THE CITY? YES. AND WHEN AND WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT ALLOWING NEWER EMPLOYEES ,WAS THAT WERE THEY NOT ABLE TO BEFORE OR ARE YOU TALKING
ABOUT THE CHANGE IN THE PERIOD WHEN YOU'RE STILL PROBATIONARY ? SO PREVIOUSLY WHEN YOU WERE ON PROBATION YOU COULDN'T USE SICK LEAVE OR BEREAVEMENT AND THIS
CONTRACT ALLOWS YOU TO DO THAT ALLOWS FOR PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES AND THAT THOSE ARE CHANGES WE'VE MADE PRETTY MUCH ACROSS THE BOARD AT THE CITY. SO THE SICK LEAVE POLICY IS SEPARATE FROM THOSE TWO ISSUES
OR IS IT KIND OF REPEATING THE SAME THING ON THE THE AGREEMENT ? I THINK THERE'S ONLY ONE SICK LEAVE FOR ME. OKAY. THERE'S ONLY ONE BUT THAT'S
CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL YEAH SO THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE OTHER CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WE AGREED UPON IN JUST A QUESTION ON I UNDERSTAND THE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION BUT TECHNOLOGY
CHANGES IS THAT IF SOMETHING DRASTICALLY CHANGES AND THEY NEED TIME TO LIKE TRAIN OR UPDATE WHAT WHAT LANGUAGE WAS THAT AROUND?
UM LET'S SEE WHAT'S LIKE THE NOTIFICATION PERIODS FOR TECHNOLOGY CHANGES? YEAH I MEAN JUST TOO SO SOME IN SOME ASPECTS OF TECHNOLOGY CHANGE VERY QUICKLY AND IF WE
TAKE SIX MONTHS TO NEGOTIATE IT WITH THE UNION IT COULD BE LIKE OBSOLETE BY THE TIME WE AGREE TO IT. SO AS FAR AS AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT LIKE DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
THAT WE COULD WITHIN IN AN EFFORT TO STREAMLINE SOME OF THAT TECHNOLOGY. OKAY, AWESOME. NOW THIS LOOKS GOOD AND LOOKING FORWARD TO SUPPORTING THIS WHEN IT COMES BEFORE US BUT THANK YOU.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL PRESIDENT LOUIJEUNE THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND THANKS THAT I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN A RECORD PACE OF OF
SETTLING IN ALL OF THESE CONTRACTS SO JUST SOME JOB WELL DONE TO THE TEAM. I BELIEVE DIRECTOR BUSHEY
STATED THAT THEY'RE ALL LIKE ALL OF THESE THE 33 POSITIONS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND THEY'RE ALL EXPERIENCING A STEP INCREASE AS WELL OF ABOUT $4,000 WHICH REPRESENTS MORE
THAN A 2% INCREASE. WHAT IS THERE DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT THAT PERCENTAGE INCREASE IS? I MEAN SO IT DIFFERS A LITTLE BIT DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH YOU'RE MAKING.
SO I THINK IS THERE AN AVERAGE? WELL, THE AVERAGE DEBT PLACEMENT INCREASE WAS 4700 BUT THE INCREASE I THINK PER YEAR CAME OUT TO ABOUT 2.8% FOR THE
CONTRACT AT THE LOWER END OF THE SALARY SCALE CERTAINLY GETS A GREATER BENEFIT BASED ON THESE THAN THAN THE UPPER END
RIGHT. SO I GUESS DO WE HAVE WHAT THE SALARY RANGES ARE THAT WOULD HELP THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME. THE SALARY RANGES ARE ATTACHED. I THINK YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE WHOLE THAT HAS IT. YES WE HAD THE STEP PLACEMENT
AND THE SALARIES FOR EACH GRADE OF THE CRAM ONE TO REINFORCE. CAN YOU MAYBE I JUST DON'T SEE IT. CAN YOU READ IT BECAUSE I DON'T I MAYBE I JUST MAY NOT SEE IT. IT DEPENDS. APPENDIX SAY ATTACH THE CRIM
ONES STARTED LIKE I'M JUST GONNA GIVE YOU AVERAGE OF 67 AND GO UP TO 90 TO THE CRIM CHOOSE GO FROM 89 TO 1 AWAIT
THE CRIM THREES GO FROM 100000 TO 122 THE CRAM FOURS GO FROM 1 TO 800 8000 TO 131000 AND THE CRIM FIVE WHICH WAS A NEW
DESIGNATION GO FROM 100 I'M SORRY 112000 TO 137000. THANK YOU. THE ONLY REASON I ASKED IS THAT JUST I THINK I MEAN MY MATH BY NOT DOING IT QUICKLY ENOUGH BUT
I THINK THAT REPRESENTS LIKE FOR SOME OF THEM IT'S A 5 TO 10% INCREASE FOR A LOT OF THEM IT ACTUALLY SOUNDS LIKE FOR THE STEP INCREASES. SO YEAH, I THINK THE LIKE 4000
THE FIRST YEAR. MM HMM. BUT THEN THEY'RE NOT GETTING THE 2% ON TOP THE FIRST TWO YEARS THEY'RE NOT GETTING THE TWO PERCENTS SO IT. YEAH I UNDERSTAND I JUST THINK THAT IT'S LIKE IN TERMS OF LIKE
PAINTING THE PICTURE OF LIKE HOW MUCH OF AN INCREASE THAT THEY'RE GETTING FOR THE FIRST YEAR IT'S JUST LIKE IT'S LARGER THAN THE 2%. EXACTLY. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS TO KNOW AND I THINK THAT'S A THANK YOU FOR FOR MAKING THAT INVESTMENT IN OUR
CITY WORKERS AND I WONDER IF KARISHMA OR SOMEONE COULD ACTUALLY DO THE PERCENTAGE MATH BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO KNOW WHAT THAT PERCENTAGES. THANK YOU AND I APPRECIATE ALL
THE WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE ON THIS AND I HAVE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILOR PEPE ON THE FLOOR. JOYCE. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR. AND THANK YOU TO THE BALANCE
FOR BEING HERE AND EXPLAINING THIS THIS PROPOSAL TO US. THIS IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD TO TO ME, MIKE MY COLLEAGUES ALREADY OUT OF QUESTION MY HEAD. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORT OF THIS WHENEVER IT COMES TO THE IN FRONT OF US. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, COUNCILOR WEBER THE FLOOR IS YOURS. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THE FORENSIC GROUP. I'M JUST I'M ASSUMING THAT THEY
DEAL WITH LIKE TECHNOLOGY BRINGING INTO SORT OF GETTING DATA OFF PHONES AND STUFF LIKE THAT. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S TRUE HOW THAT WORKS AND I
ASSUME IT HAS SORT OF THERE'S MORE TIME INVOLVED WITH THAT WORK NOW THAN THERE WAS. I DON'T WHATEVER OR AS AS THOSE DEVICES BECOME MORE IMPORTANT MAYBE NOT AND HOW THAT'S IMPACTING LIKE THE STAFFING
NEEDS AND AND THE TIME PEOPLE ARE NEEDED TO DO THE WORK WE NEED THEM TO DO IN THE IN THE GROUP THINKS SO ALL OF THE EMPLOYEES COVERED BY THIS MOA
ARE IN THE FORENSIC DIVISION THE FORENSIC DIVISION IS BROKEN DOWN INTO THE LATENT PRINT UNIT WHICH IS THUMBPRINTS BUT IT'S ALSO SHOE PRINTS. IT'S ANYTHING THAT'S UNSEEN
EVIDENCE. THEN THERE'S THE CRIME LAB UNIT WHICH DEALS WITH SEROLOGY AND TESTING DNA. THERE'S THE FIREARMS ANALYSIS
UNIT WHICH DEALS WITH BULLETS AND FIREARMS AND TESTING THOSE AND THEN THERE'S THE QUALITY ASSURANCE UNIT WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT ALL THE SCIENTIFIC MEANS AND METHODS ARE DONE APPROPRIATELY
AND UP TO PAR. I WOULD SAY FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND THE DNA HAS BEEN THE PROCESS THERE HAS BEEN LENGTHENED A LITTLE BIT BASED
ON DIFFERENT CHECKS IN HOW MUCH THEY HAVE TO REPORT AND CONFIRM CONFIRMATORY TESTS AND THE LIKE AND I'M NOT A SCIENTIST BUT THAT'S JUST WHAT I'VE HEARD.
I HAVEN'T HEARD THE SAME FOR LATENT PRINT FOR FIREARMS ANALYSIS. OKAY. YEAH. SO IF THERE'S IF WE NEED TO GET INFORMATION OFF OF A PHONE I'M JUST IT'S A COMMON THING.
IT'S NOT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN IN THIS GROUP. NO. OKAY THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHAIR THANK YOU
COUNCILOR WHETHER A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR ME IS ON PAGE SIX OF THE CONTRACT AROUND DETAILS.
DO WE KNOW HOW MANY OF THESE EMPLOYEES PICK UP DETAILS THESE EMPLOYEES DON'T PICK UP PAID POLICE DETAILS. OKAY.
THERE THERE THEY DON'T CARRY THEY DON'T CARRY GUNS. THEY'RE NOT SWORN OFFICERS. OKAY. PROFESSIONALS GOT IT.
AND THEN I SEE IT SAYS YOU KNOW, THERE'S 24 HOUR NOTICE ON COURT. A PARENT DID THAT USED TO BE 72 HOURS LIKE OTHER DETECTIVES WE GOT TO CHANGE.
I I THINK YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING AT A DIFFERENT MEMORANDUM OR SOMETHING ELSE RIGHT. THAT THAT WAS FOR THE DETECTIVES UNIT. THIS IS THE FORENSICS GROUP. OH YEAH.
SAME UNION, DIFFERENT DIFFERENT UNIT. MAKES SENSE. ALL RIGHT, WELL, WITH THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS NO MORE. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MY
COUNCILOR COLLEAGUES? WELL, THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR TIME. ARE WE NOW GOING TO BE TALKING
ABOUT THE 02302 SO THIS HEARING ON DOCKET NUMBER 202370238 IS ADJOURNED. SORRY