When Business Administrator Robert O. Sheehan proposed a preliminary 2012 budget to Plainsboro township committee on February 22, one item that stood out was a $333,000 increase in the Plainsboro Police’s salary and wages over last year’s allocation. Mayor Cantu and Committee member Ed Yates asked about the increase and how it fits into the budget’s big picture, which was proposed as $1.87 million above last year’s budget.
Ahead of the Committee’s meeting on Wednesday, March 14, Sheehan says he has revised several aspects of the proposed budget, and there will be increases in revenues as well as some “reductions in appropriations” that will further reduce the tax rate. But he says the 1/3 of a million dollars increase for police will remain, and for good reason.
“The increase is largely a salary increase based on what we negotiated with the union. Secondly, it is the full-year impact of hiring three new officers that were authorized in last year’s budget — they were hired in the middle of the year so the expense to last year’s budget was muted,” Sheehan said.
For several years Plainsboro did not fill all of the police officer slots for budgetary reasons, according to Sheehan. Now new officers are coming in due to retirements on the current force. Sheehan explained that with the retirement of Chief Richad Furda last fall “everybody moved up on the totem pole” in the police department, meaning that a patrol officer position opened and had to be filled.
The Plainsboro Police Department now has 35 uniformed officers, operating at what Sheehan called its “authorized level.” In January Kevin Schroeck was sworn in at a township committee meeting (WW-P News, January 20). Meanwhile, the three officers brought in last summer were Deon McCall, Patrick Miller, and Dan Reichard (WW-P News, September 23, 2011).
Sheehan commented on the context of the $333,000 increase on a budget of roughly $4.4 million, saying Plainsboro’s police was its most significant line item. For a couple of years the township has not had the police force operate with full capacity, as the amount of officers was reduced. Sheehan proposes that the opposite will happen, at least in once instance. The 2012 budget calls for an additional officer, and Chief Guy Armour has stated that there would be a new hire likely around the time the new hospital opens.
“The new officer would increase the current authorized level to 36. Thirty-five has been in place for a number of years so this would be the first increase in a while,” Sheehan said.
From an administrative point of view the timing appears right with plans for Plainsboro to see an increase in people and vehicles coming through town.
“We’ve been prudent over the years and right now, as the hospital and other big projects come on line, we feel that it’s appropriate to move the level up,” Sheehan said, noting that the Township Committee has yet to authorize this proposal.
