Borough Council approves new three-year contract.
By: Leon Tovey
JAMESBURG Borough police will receive a 12 percent pay increase over the next three years under the terms of a new contract adopted by the Borough Council on Wednesday.
The three-year contract, which was approved unanimously by the council, is retroactive to Jan. 1 and runs until Dec. 31 2007. It gives police a 3.25 percent increase this year, a 4.25 percent increase in 2006 and a 4.5 percent increase in 2007.
Councilman Joseph Jennings, who heads the Personnel and Negotiations Committee, said negotiations with Police Benevolent Association Local 166, which represents 12 of the borough’s 13 police officers, were concluded amicably, despite the fact that police have been without a contract since Dec. 31.
It’s not unusual for negotiations on new police contracts to last until the end of February or the beginning of March, Mr. Jennings said, a fact that isn’t usually a problem for the PBA.
"We have a very good dialogue," he said. "They understand the constraints we are under and they work with us."
Mr. Jennings also praised the PBA’s willingness to give the borough "a little relief" in the first year of the contract, asking for a 3.25 percent pay increase, in light of the borough’s current budget crisis.
The union also agreed to remove a clause in the contract giving the PBA the right to renegotiate the contract in the final year to adjust for inflation, Mr. Jennings said.
Under the terms of the new contract, the 2005 annual salary for a first-year, or probationary, patrolman is $37,376; for a fifth-year patrolman it is $68,242; and for a 10-year patrolman it is $70,289.
For officers, the 2005 annual salary will be $73,101 for a detective, $76,025 for a sergeant and $80,587 for a lieutenant.
Mr. Jennings said now that the Personnel and Negotiations Committee has concluded negotiations with the PBA, it can begin working on a new contract for Chief David Lester, who is under a separate contract.
Mr. Jennings said the committee had its first meeting with the chief Tuesday and that they would meet again Tuesday. He said he expected negotiations to conclude quickly.