Will Ewing cops give up salary to keep their jobs?

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

By JOAN GALLER
Staff Writer

EWING — What would it take to avert the impending Aug. 18 layoff of 24 township employees, including six
cops?

They’d have to agree to a one-year pay freeze and contribute 1½ percent of their salaries toward the cost of
their health benefits.

That’s the offer that was put on the table last March by the Ball administration in the face of a $2.5 million cut
in state aid for Fiscal Year 2011, which started July 1, two weeks ago.

But as of Tuesday night’s council meeting — when Ball faced a crowd of 80 residents and endured withering
criticism, badgering and one local woman’s shrill, obscene-laced tirade — only one of the eight unions
representing township employees had responded positively.

Two other unions, now engaged in negotiations, learned after their respective contracts expired recently that
their members are required by a new state law to pay 1½ percent of their pay toward health costs.

“I’m deeply disappointed in the lack of union response, but I still remain optimistic that we can prevent these
jobs from being lost,” the mayor told the crowd at the council session, including members of PBA Local 111,
firefighters and other unionized workers.

Ball drew groans when he replied “no” and said his administration, including business administrator and
acting chief financial officer, are just starting the process.

A woman resident labeled Ball’s layoff plan “a scare tactic” to pressure the unions to accept givebacks in
these tough economic times when many police officers have young families or just bought new homes.

“You don’t even have the money to give the crossing guards a $1 raise!” she said.

The mayor said the township considered furloughs and worked up a plan for last year when Ewing lost
$315,000 in state aid plus had to start paying on the deferred pension.

But furloughs were not workable, he added, they would have reduced township employees to a 4-day work
week and 20 percent pay cuts. Only the police, firemen and EMS workers would have been exempt, he said.

“We lost $2.5 million in state aid to the township and $2.5 million to our school district,” Ball said. “We just
don’t have the money” to keep the workers on the payroll without givebacks or lay offs.

Ewing’s police department has the “second highest salary guide” in the state of New Jersey, Township
Attorney Michael Hartsough noted after the meeting.
New patrol officers earn about $60,000; superior officers command well over $100,000.

The salary range emerged as a sore point during the public session when one disgruntled resident noted
junior officers were going to be replaced on road patrols by officers earning more than $100,000 a year.

“How is that saving the town money?” he demanded.

The impending job reassignments will also affect three officers who will no longer work as school resource
officers at Ewing’s elementary, middle and high schools.

Ball managed to inject a bit of good news during the heated meeting: two sergeants will not be demotion to
patrol officer, as previously announced, due to two recent retirement notices.

URL: http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/07/15/news/doc4c3e7b28a85b8185248289.prt

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