Police Salary Issue Goes to Arbitration
• Petracco's Motion to Approve Funding Fails to Get a Second Vote
Jul 6, 2010 – After three months of waiting, Public Safety Commissioner Alphonse Petracco last night finally was able to bring the matter of a new police salary contract to a vote.
"This is a fair settlement," Petracco said, emphasizing the agreement with the Nutley Patrolman's Benevolent Association was less than the 4 percent raise given police in neighboring Belleville.
"I move the motion," Petracco said. And then there was complete silence.
After what seemed like a very long minute, Township Clerk Evelyn Rosario spoke up. "I need a second on the motion," she said. But the silence continued.
Finally, the municipal attorney Richard Grodeck, declared, "The motion has failed for the lack of a second."
What happens next? Petracco was asked after the session adjourned.
At first Petracco said he was disappointed and would return to the negotiations' process with the police. But a few minutes later, Petracco said he would turn the matter over to a professional negotiator, again noting that arbitration resulted in a 4 percent pay hike in Belleville.
When Nutley Finance Commissioner Tom Evans was asked about the possibility of an arbitrator entering the negotiations process, Evans said that the most recent settlement by an arbitrator was a 2 percent pay increase given police in Paramus.
And while the police pay issue lags on, the overall ability of the town to meet its existing payroll through the end of the year appears to be challenged with a strong possibility of additional layoffs by year's end, and if not then, certainly by Jan. 1, 2011.
Evans presented a detailed analysis of the Nutley budget crisis that had been updated over the July 4 recess using the latest figures released by Gov. Chris Cristie.
Evans noted that while Cristie had capped municipal expenditures at 2 percent, he excluded the expensive categories of health care, pension contributions, energy costs and debt service payments.
Evans' calculations show the municipal tax hike announced last night averages $155 or 4.689 percent. But the municipal taxes are only about one-third the overall tax levy. (the school system and county budgets account for two-thirds the tax cost.) Thus the overall tax increase in Nutley totals $465 on average – or an increase of more that 14 per cent.
Four residents last night complained their individual tax bills appeared to be even higher than the 14 percent average. In each instance cited, Evans said he would dispatch personnel to make a second inspection of the properties.
The overall budget includes 35 percent for town operations, 48 percent for the local school system, 16 percent for Essex County and the remaining one percent for "open space" programs.
Without additional concessions, Evans told his colleagues last night, there will be additional terminations of town workers and potentially a loss in municipal services.
Eighty percent of Nutley's overall tax bill is paid by residents, Evans said. "And residents over the age of 65 pay 18 percent of the costs."
The median income in Nutley is $59,600. The town's population is 27,362.
The major municipal expense is 40 percent for pension costs -- 26.7 percent for police and firemen and 13.9 percent for other employees. Health costs are up 15 percent and town salaries and longevity allowances have increased about 3.25 percent.
This year Nutley has lost $1.1 million in state aid and another $240,00 in health care benefits
The fiscal climate also has contributed to a decrease in the assessed value of Nutley properties. The assessed value of the average household is $62,000 less than what it was a year ago.
