DIXFIELD — Selectmen on Monday unanimously approved a new four-year contract for the town’s half-dozen Public Works employees.

Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky said Monday night that the new contract runs from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2013.

Major changes include salary increases of 5 percent for fiscal years 2011-12, and 2012-13. No increases were approved for the first two years of the contract.

Also, Public Works employees may now use their sick time to tend to immediate family members. Other benefits remained the same.

A third component restricts the working foreman to remaining outside the union.

In other matters at Monday’s meeting, the board accepted the 2010 audit report and chose not to have the town’s auditor provide a verbal report at a future meeting.

Skibitsky said the report showed a “clean” audit, with no deficiencies, all compliances met, and a fund balance of $842,422. About $100,000 of that sum will be applied to this year’s tax liability.

The board also awarded the contracts for the purchase of fuel products to two vendors. Propane will be purchased from the Dead River Co. at a cost of $1.899 per gallon. Gas and diesel will be bought at 9.5 cents over the rack prices, and heating oil costs were locked in at $2.416 per gallon from C.N. Brown.

The board also:

* Approved the donation of four cell phones owned by the Dixfield Police Department to a program that gathers phones for soldiers.

* Set a meeting with the East Dixfield Fire Department for Oct. 18 to discuss firetrucks.

* Authorized fire Chief Scott Dennett to solicit bids for the 1985 ladder truck.

* Set a meeting with Mexico Sewer District trustees for Oct. 6 at the Mexico Town Hall.

* Appointed Tom Child as an alternate member of the Planning Board for one year.

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