Mayor Frank Picozzi is tight-lipped on a reported three-year contract negotiated by his administration and approved by union members that would reportedly give firefighters a 14.5% pay increase.

Picozzi said last month the terms of the agreement would be released well in advance of the required 14 days before it comes to the City Council. The council is expected to consider the contract on Oct. 20. Asked about the financial impact of the agreement on the current operating budget, Picozzi said the funding is there.

To City Council finance committee Chairman Ed Ladouceur’s recollection, a 14.5% pay increase would be “the highest ask of any bargaining group.”

“Where do they think the taxpayers are going to get it?” he asked of the administration.

As of Monday, Ladouceur had no additional information regarding the contract.

Ladouceur has been steadfast in his opposition to municipal labor contracts until they do amend free health insurance for retirees and introduce insurance co-payments as required of active employees. He advocates revising the automatic cost-of-living adjustments in pension fund contributions that have made for generous pensions for the highest-paid firefighters and revamping the system for adjusting municipal employee pensions. Those pension payments are adjusted annually on the basis of the pension fund performance and not the cost of living.

“They are the lowest paid workers,” Ladouceur said of the municipal retirees. “They get no COLA; they’re the ones who get beat up all the time … they need stability for their future.” He suggests those retirees receive a “guaranteed minimum increase every year.”

Ultimately Ladouceur would like to see the city abandon its pension systems and for all municipal employees go on “401Ks like the rest of the world.”

Ladouceur is irked details of the firefighters’ agreement haven’t been released.

“The administration has had it for at least a month,” he said. Ladouceur has long advocated that the administration provide labor-contract details well in advance of council consideration. He spearheaded an ordinance requiring the administration make contracts available in advance of council meetings after an agreement negotiated by former Mayor Joseph Solomon came before the council less than a week before it was slated to vote on it.  Ladouceur started off with 60 days before the vote, but didn’t get the support he needed until he dropped it to 14 days.

The Beacon first heard that the administration had reached an agreement with firefighters more than three weeks ago. At that time Picozzi confirmed the report but didn’t release terms of the agreement on grounds that “details were still being worked out.”

As for a 14.5% pay increase for firefighters, Ladouceur said he has heard “rumblings.”

Contacted separately, Ward 6 Councilman William Muto, also member of the council’s finance committee, likewise said he has heard the contract calls for a 14.5% increase over three years.

Regardless of when they get to see the contract, Ladouceur and Muto said they wouldn’t vote for it until they have had the opportunity to fully vet it.