Sudbury Select Board ratifies dispatcher contract clearing path to Holbrook regional dispatch

SUDBURY -- February 6, 2024, Sudbury Select Board ratifies Teamsters deal that dissolves dispatch union ahead of Holbrook transition. The board voted 5-0 Feb. 6 to approve the agreement with International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25 and authorize Town Manager Andy Sheehan to execute it, capping negotiations begun last August. Sheehan said the deal includes retention incentives "in order to keep our dispatchers on the job here so that we could make a smooth transition" to Holbrook's regional dispatch center sometime in 2024. The board also voted 5-0 to accept all 44 Annual Town Meeting articles, down from 55 at this point last year, and to refer them to town counsel and the Planning Board. On a 3-2 split, members renamed Article 33 the "Firearm Safety Business Use Bylaw," with Chair Janie Dretler and member Lisa Kouchakdjian opposed. A public forum on the firearm article is tentatively set for March 28 as a hybrid meeting.