JAY — Selectpersons approved three-year contracts with the Police Department and Town Office staff retroactive to July 1 on Monday night following an executive session.

The Police Department will get a 4% raise this year, a 3% increase the second year, with a wage reopener clause for the third-year, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said Tuesday. The shift differential increased from 40 cents an hour to 50 cents an hour, she said.

A longevity clause of 50 cents an hour was added for those who have been with the department for 20 years. Another change is the dispatcher/secretary position will be reduced from a 42-hour workweek to 40 hours after the current dispatcher/secretary leaves the department. There is no time frame for the departure.

The one full-time Town Office staff member and a part-time employee will receive 3% increases for each of the next three years.

Raises have not been given in a couple of years because of budget cuts to pay Verso Paper $4 million over three years to settle an overvaluation tax dispute, LaFreniere said.

Each contract will expire June 30, 2022.