Plainsboro’s top administrators and members of the Township Committee would see a 3.5 percent salary increase under an ordinance up for approval on Wednesday, August 12.##M:[more]##
The ordinance, which was introduced on July 8 and would increase the annual pay range for non-union township personnel by 3.5 percent, is on the agenda for a public hearing and vote.
The wage ranges for various township employees, including for the township administrator, director of planning and zoning, chief financial officer, recreation director, tax collector, director of code enforcement/construction official, and the executive assistant to the mayor, among many others, are included in the ordinance. The salary ranges for part-time non-union employees, including the mayor and Township Committee, are also increasing.
According to Chief Financial Officer Greg Mayers, the ordinance would increase the minimum and maximum in the salary ranges listed for each non-union township position by about 3.5 percent, and increase individual salaries by a few percent, although those numbers were not yet available, he said.
“It should be an increase in the minimum and maximum and the individual who lies within,” said Mayers. “They are going to be certain percentages. I have to wait to get the salary changes from the Human Resources department. They’re going to be around 3.5 percent.”
The salary and salary range increases were appropriated for in this year’s budget, he said.
When asked about the possibility that the committee could approve the salary increase in the rough economic climate, Mayor Peter Cantu said he did not think the increase was inconsistent with the township’s practice in increasing the negotiated union contracts. Negotiations for those union contract increases “began some time ago,” Cantu explained. “We didn’t have the view of the economic conditions when those negotiations started.”
Further, Cantu said, “the settlements occurred recently, and the negotiations and the basis for those settlements had been in negotiation for some period of time. There is a legitimate concern that we maintain some kind of consistency.”
“Today, if we went into negotiations, we’d have a different view, and that would flavor those negotiations,” Cantu added. “If the economic conditions remain, I think in our future negotiations, we will be able to use those economic conditions as we move forward.”
Last year, in West Windsor, controversy arose when the Township Council there tried to pass a measure that would increase its members’ salaries by 50 percent, causing public outrage. Cantu, however, said that “we’ve tried to avoid controversies by maintaining a consistency with the settlements and with the non-union folks as far as increases,” he said. “We avoid situations where there are large adjustments” at one time. In addition, compared to the salaries in towns in the area, “I don’t think they differ substantially, and in some cases, they’re lower,” Cantu said.
Further, Township Administrator Robert Sheehan said that “all of the salary increases that we’re having right now are in the context of also receiving concessions on health benefits. In some cases, the cost of living was somewhat elevated in concession for some pretty substantial decreases in health care costs.”
A list of the increase in salary ranges called for in the ordinance was available. The ordinance sets the following ranges for 2009:
A minimum of $29,”000 and a maximum of $51,”995 for the Administrative Secretary to Director of Public Safety, up from last year’s maximum salary of $50,”236; a minimum of $34,”000 and maximum of $52,”785 for the Executive Assistant to the Mayor, up from last year’s maximum salary of $51,”000; a minimum of $31,”300 and a maximum of $58,”866 for the Executive Secretary, up from last year’s maximum of $56,”875; a minimum of $31,”900 and a maximum of $60,”747 for the Assistant Treasurer, up from last year’s maximum of $58,”692;
A minimum of $34,”600 and a maximum of $62,”546 for the Deputy Township Clerk, up from last year’s maximum of $60,”431; a minimum of $31,”900 and a maximum of $63,”117 for the Assistant Public Works Foreman, up from last year’s maximum of $60,”983; a minimum of $40,”100 and a maximum of $72,”175 for the Foreman, up from last year’s maximum of $69,”734.
A minimum of $42,”200 and a maximum of $76,”068 for the Court Administrator, up from last year’s maximum of $73,”495; a minimum of $45,”000 and a maximum of $80,”530 for the Human Resource Officer, up from last year’s maximum of $77,”807; a minimum of $49,”600 and a maximum of $89,”462 for the Tax Collector, up from last year’s maximum of $86,”437.
A minimum of $51,”600 and a maximum of $93,”041 for the Recreation Director, up from last year’s maximum of $89,”895; a minimum of $51,”600 and a maximum of $93,”041 for the Township Clerk, up from last year’s maximum of $89,”895; a minimum of $54,”300 and a maximum of $97,”341 for the Tax Assessor, up from last year’s maximum of $94,”049; a minimum of $68,”300 and a maximum of $111,”511 for the Public Works Superintendent, up from last year’s maximum of $107,”740;
A minimum of $75,”000 and a maximum of $111,”511 for the Director of Planning and Zoning, up from last year’s maximum salary of $107,”740; a minimum of $68,”300 and a maximum of $115,”482 for the Director of Code Enforcement/Construction Official, up from last year’s maximum of $111,”577; a minimum of $68,”300 and a maximum of $119,”453 for the Chief Financial Officer, up from last year’s maximum of $115,”414; and a minimum of $82,”900 and a maximum of $148,”163 for the Township Administrator, up from last year’s maximum of $143,”153.
The ordinance also increases the part-time salaried non-union employees. The Township Committee’s maximum salary is set at $10,”359 for 2009, up from last year’s salary of $10,”009. The ordinance also sets a minimum base salary of $9,”200 and a maximum of $15,”255 for the Mayor, up from last year’s maximum of $14,”739.
The municipal judge’s salary is set at $60,”800 for 2009, up from last year’s $58,”744. The prosecutor’s salary is set at $61,”313 for 2009, up from last year’s $59,”240; and the Public Defender’s Salary is set at $37,”776 for 2009, up from last year’s $36,”499.
The ordinance also sets ranges for hourly employees, including camp counselors, program instructors, and park rangers.
Other Business. In other business, a public hearing and vote on a bond ordinance that covers various general improvements, as called for in this year’s budgets, is also scheduled for Wednesday, August 12.
About $3 million of the $4.054 million in projects called for in the ordinance will be spent on road improvements and renovations to the existing library once the new library opens. Other projects include smaller park improvements, the next phase of the bike path, replacement of the police in-car video systems, purchase of a new truck for the Public Works department, and the purchase of a new Voice Over IP system for the township building.
The township will issue $3.444 million in bonds to cover the costs and will make a down payment of $181,”275, and use a $421,”000 grant.
In other business during the meeting, the committee also introduced a salary ordinance that would increase the annual pay for non-union township personnel by 3.5 percent, “consistent with the marketplace,” said Township Administrator Robert Sheehan.
