LEWISTON – City officials have met with most city union leaders as negotiations for five of the city’s six labor contracts continue.

All five contracts expired June 30, according to Denis Jean, the city human resources director. He and City Administrator Jim Bennett and at least one city councilor have met with all but one of the five unions at least twice.

Negotiations at this stage are cordial, Jean said. He hopes to begin settling contracts before November’s election.

“The first meetings were just reports from the city about our current financial situation,” Jean said. “But now, we are really down to negotiations.”

Jean, Bennett and Councilor Robert Connor have met twice with leaders from the two units represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. That union represents city Public Works employees and the professional-technical staffers.

Councilor Stavros Mendros has sat in on three meetings with the Maine Association of Police units representing the city’s patrol officers and patrol supervisors, Jean said.

Meetings with the Maine State Employees Association have not started yet, he said. That union represents the city’s clerical and custodial employees.

A sixth labor union, the International Association of Firefighters, has a three-year contract that expires in December. Jean said he hopes to open those negotiations later this summer.

The city’s 2003-2004 budget includes a $326,000 increase for health insurance and a $378,000 increase for salaries.