By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The village board on Tuesday approved a new contract with CSEA for their union employees, a deal which was lambasted by a trustee.

The board voted to approve the deal 3-0-1, with Trustee Francis Carvel, a vocal opponent of the contract, abstaining. He did not give a reason for his abstention.

Deputy Mayor Matt Lebire said there were about a dozen meetings between a board committee and union officials, which he says yielded an agreement that will “balance needs of the taxpayers as a whole but recognize employees rightfully.”

Lebire said the four-year deal calls for small raises, 1 percent the first year, 2 percent the second and third and 2.5 percent the fourth.

Also, employee contributions to health insurance will go from $13 a week to $30.

“Basically … the union has agreed to have a four-year staggering increase on insurance, currently it’s $13 a week. Eventually it’s going to be up to $30 for a family plan, so considerable increase there,” Lebire said. “When you look at the average employee and the net gain over four years, this is not a huge windfall for any group … this at least keeps them above cost of living so they’re not losing ground, but isn’t a huge gain by any means for a typical employee.”

“I think by looking this over… it’s very generous compared to what we’re going to have to give on our end. Looks like the tax cap coming this year is half a percent. When we give out more than half a percent, we’re falling behind,” Carvel said. “GM is no longer here, Alcoa is no longer here. We’re one of the best paid places to work in the Massena area … a lot of benefits. Looking through here with the increase in benefits, the only thing we don’t do is buy their dinner.”

“They net a yearly gain of about $110. Yearly gain. That’s about as close to net neutral as I can come. Costs are going up … and I’m banking $110, $120 more a year, that’s $10 a month. That’s not giving away the farm in my opinion,” Lebire said.

“You’ve got longevity bonuses, with different steps and grades. Those aren’t free … I’m proposing there aren’t a lot of places out there giving out raises right now … I know you spent a lot of time on this,” Carvel said.

“Where I’m at is $10 for a $35,000 employee would just be disrespectful, to go for anything less. I’m not going to ask someone to go in, work their behind off and say ‘you’re getting nothing for the next four years’,” Lebire said.

Despite Carvel’s criticisms, the village CSEA union president thanked the board for their work and held no hard feelings against the trustee.

“We thank the committee from the village board for negotiating in really good faith. A lot of discussions and I don’t think anything got out of hand. Trustee Carvel, I respect he’s looking our for the taxpayers, but if he was sitting on the committee he’d understand. He’s looking out for the taxpayer, which I and most of the employees are,” local CSEA President Mark Patterson said.