Police Pay Hikes Would Force Employee Layoffs
• Town Seems to Be Preparings for State Spending Cuts
Jun 16, 2010 – During a shouting match with PBA attorney David DeFilippo last night, the Board of Commissioners revealed that additional town employees would lose their jobs if the long-delayed salary contract with police were approved.
"Our Nutley police are wonderful men but that doesn't mean we should be forced into making a decision without looking at the numbers, Mayor Joanne Cocchiola told the PBA attorney. She said the Commission is facing the possibility of additional employee layoffs should pay hikes for the PBA be approved at this time.
Finance Commissioner Tom Evans, in the heat of the back and forth exchange with Filippo, revealed that an on-going investigation of the pending police salary contract has disclosed that police would gain an added $55 in benefits for every $100 spent on pay increases were the existing contract ratified.
Attorney DeFilippo characterized the Commission's failure to adopt the negotiated salaries as "a slap in the face" to the police department. Filippo several times in recent weeks has asked why the Mayor has not entertained a motion to approve the contracts while at the same time cognizant that that no one on the Commission, including Public Safety Commissioner Alphonse Petracco, has ever called for a contract settlement vote.
"I have worked with the Police Department every day since I've been elected," Petracco said last night. He favors settlement of the contract but he also revealed last night that he's received several personal calls from aides of Gov. Cris Christie "telling me that the contact I negotiated was not in the best interest of the town. I am in favor of the contract and I am hoping that it will be resolved shortly," Petracco said
Gov. Christie has taken the initial steps to closing the state government if his proposal to cap state and municipal expenditures at 2.5 percent is not ratified. The Nutley Board of Commissioners already has cut staff, withheld salary increases for other municipal departments and completely eliminated several community programs. The upcoming July 4th celebration, for example, has scaled down its day-time program of children's activities. Only those activities that are expense-free or where individual donations have been made will be featured. Evening events like a pie-eating contest have been donated by the Park Shop-Rite. Local businessmen have donated funds for a band a, disk-jockey and $8,400 for the fireworks.
The Nutley Board of Education also has been forced to layoff personnel and cut programs because of the state-imposed spending caps.
Nonetheless, the PBA attorney last night insisted that the Nutley Commissioners had acted inappropriately.
"I've been a labor attorney for 18 years; I've negotiated hundreds and hundreds of dealings in that time and what you are doing in unprecedented. I've never seen the level of arrogance you Commissioners have show to the members of the police union," DeFilippo said.
