The Edison Township Council voted unanimously last week to adopt a $113 million budget that will keep taxes stable in 2011.
Changes made to the adopted budget make it possible for the 10 public works employees whose jobs were eliminated in January and February to be returned to work, according to Councilman Thomas Lankey, chairman of the council’s finance committee. “Themoney is there,” Lankey said during a special meeting June 29. “Now it’s up to the administration.”
He said last week that the administration had already rehired at least two public works employees.
“The remaining employees will be able to be hired back with this addition, along with summer help,” he said, referring to an additional $200,000 for street cleaning and garbage collection salaries.
Over the last several months, the finance committee and administration had “open and heated” debates as they pored over budget documents, he said. A handful of administrative changes were made within the budget, and the council added $1.482 million in revenues, thus reducing the amount of surplus funds used in the budget.
The council’s budget includes the following additions: $20,000 for the clerk’s office at the council’s request; $4,000 in administration salaries; $42,000 to provide funding for the Arts Society and the Edison Memorial Tower; $5,000 in health salaries; and $3,000 in senior citizen services. Other recommendations made by the council to the administration include an addition of $295,000 in police salaries to reflect the retirements and vacancies within the department; and an addition of $190,000 to fire salaries, with the elimination of the assistant business administrator/assistant public safety director, and to reflect retirements and the transfer of $100,000 to the other expenses line for the fire department for equipment maintenance and repair.
The administration announced on June 20 that the position of assistant public safety director, held by Richard Laird, was eliminated. He was appointed last August as assistant business administrator at a salary of $110,000 with no benefits; later, his title was changed to assistant public safety director.
The other recommendations include $20,000 added to the division of planning and zoning salaries; $30,000 to other municipal court expenses to fund equipment necessary to run the court, expenses that were omitted from the budget; and an addition of $125,000 to deferred charges and statutory expenditures, and prior year LOSAP (Length of Service Award Program) bills to fund for the statutory requirement that had been omitted since 2006.
Council President Robert Diehl said a committee would be formed to examine the LOSAP issue.
Changes in police command
Changes have been made to the command staff of the police department on a temporary basis. Mayor Antonia Ricigliano said two captains had retired and Deputy Chief Carmelo Vaticano is on leave.
While she did not disclose the reason Vaticano is on leave, she said she hopes it is not for too long.
“The chief [Thomas Bryan] needed replacements, so we have put in acting positions,” she said. Ricigliano said two sergeants will now serve as acting captain and acting lieutenant, respectively. In turn, two patrolmen are serving as acting sergeants.
“This is just to fill in some spaces,” the mayor said.
Bryan said some officers are on long-term leave for illness or injury, and this has impacted the efficiency of the police department.
“We went from 10 captains at one point to one as of last week,” he said.
In January, Ricigliano reorganized the department in order to reduce expenses — cutting salary costs by $100,000 — and to place more officers on the street. This included reducing the number of bureaus commanded by captains from eight to four. The three least senior captains were demoted to the rank of lieutenant; the two least senior lieutenants to sergeant; and the two least senior sergeants to patrolman.
Bryan said he is still working on an assessment of what took place during his roughly three-month absence earlier this year.
“I have identified deficiencies,” he said.
Township Councilman Sudhanshu Prasad asked administration members what they are doing to bring employees back from long-term disability.
Management Specialist William Stephens, who is serving as acting business administrator, said the administration is looking at each of the long-term sick-leave cases. He said the administration is also considering changing the policy regarding sick leave.
“[An employee] will need more than a sick note from the doctor,” he said.