AUBURN – City and police union leaders are looking to the state to help settle their negotiations.

Assistant City Manager Mark Adams said he and John Richardson are jointly asking the Maine Labor Relations Board to mediate a new contract with the police.

“Both parties feel that their positions are justified,” Adams said. “Both feel they are where they need to be without compromise. So we need someone else to help us find where our common interests are.”

The city’s contract with the police union expired June 30. Union leaders say a proposed increase in monthly health insurance premiums has been the biggest sticking point. Those higher costs, coupled with no cost-of-living wage increases for most city employees, would mean cuts in take-home pay.

During the summer, police began growing beards in defiance of city policy to protest the state of contract negotiations. They also began attending City Council meetings to protest the lack of a contract.

Adams last met with union leaders on Sept. 5, and both sides said the meeting went well. Adams briefed councilors about the meeting at the Sept. 22 meeting in executive session. He spoke with John Richardson, the lawyer representing the police, last week and both agreed to seek state help.

“Once you work on something for a long time, you begin to see it in one way and miss some opportunities for agreement,” Adams said. “Hopefully, an objective third party can point out some of the opportunities.”

Mediation would be nonbinding, Adams said. Neither side is required to accept the mediator’s suggestions.

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