The Plainsboro Township Committee has re-introduced a salary ordinance implementing changes reflected in the collective bargaining agreement approved earlier in March that represents members of the township’s police force.##M:[more]##
Township Administrator Bob Sheehan told the committee during its March 25 meeting that there was a discrepancy in the way the salary structure was written in the ordinance as it was originally introduced on March 11. The Policemen’s Benevolent Association, Local 319 was notified of the discrepancy, and the committee re-introduced the ordinance with the changes. A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 7.
Another salary ordinance, which reflects the changes from the approved collective bargaining agreement with the Communication Workers of America, which represents the township’s white collar employees, was adopted during the March 25 meeting.
The agreement with the PBA, which covers the period of time from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010, includes changes to administrative operations regarding how compensatory and vacation time is taken. The PBA represents police personnel with the ranks of patrolman and corporal. The salary increase for the three years in the contract for the members of the bargaining units is 4 percent for all three years. In exchange, the township will receive some concessions that will reduce healthcare costs.
In 2009, the starting salary for a police officer is $49,”638, and anyone hired during that time as a new employee will keep that salary through 2010.
The agreement negotiated with the CWA is the first agreement of its kind. The agreement covers the years 2006 through 2010. The union organized in 2006, and township officials spent the last three years trying to work on the contract.
In this agreement, there is no step guide, as the union covers a variety of white collar employees, from bookkeepers to EMTs. Instead, there are maximum and minimum salaries established for each position.
The increase in the salary for 2006 and 2007 is 3.5 percent, and the increase for 2008 is 3.25 percent. For 2009 and 2010, the increase is at 4 percent. In return, the union agreed to give up access to the traditional healthcare plan for its members. As a result, the township expects to save on 20 to 23 employees who were enrolled in the traditional plan, and who will now switch. Those employees will only have access to the township’s HMO-like plan.
