HOWELL — The Howell Township Council has ratified a contract with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and introduced a new salary ordinance for union members.
The contract was ratified on Feb. 4 and the salary ordinance was introduced that same night. The salary ordinance will be up for adoption on Feb. 18.
Mayor Bill Gotto said the TWU represents Howell employees who are not department heads or police officers.
Council members unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the ratification of the contract between the township and the TWU. The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011, and will expire on Dec. 31, 2014.
Gotto, Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro, Councilman Robert Walsh and Councilman Edward Guz voted to approve the deal. Councilwoman Pauline Smith was not present.
“It is a revolving process,” Gotto said. “They [the TWU members] have been working without a contract for years, so this was one of our initiatives when we had [Township Manager Jeff] Filiatreault step into office.”
In noting that the contract that was just approved will expire in less than 10 months, Filiatreault said, “We are planning to negotiate a new contract later this year, maybe in August or September. It could be a three-year contract, it could a be four-year contract. That will all be brought up.”
The TWU salary ordinance indicates there was no salary increase from 2010 to 2011, a 1-percent increase from 2011 to 2012, a 1.5- percent increase from 2012 to 2013, and a 2- percent increase from 2013 to 2014. Gotto said the raises will be paid retroactively.
According to salary guides provided by the township, in 2011, a TWU member’s salary could range from $29,729 to $74,301, depending where the employee was on the salary guide.
In 2012, the TWU salary range was from $30,026 to $75,044. In 2013, the salary range was from $30,476 to $76,170. In 2014, the salary range is from $31,086 to $77,693.
In other business, the council passed a resolution to approve Phase VII of the improvements to Ford Road. The improvements will be completed by Terra-Tech Construction, Manalapan, at a cost of $340,863. Of that total, $153,000 will be covered by a Community Development Block Grant.
“Usually, we just use grant money and nothing else for the Ford Road improvements, but we want to get it done,” Filiatreault said.
Gotto said construction on Ford Road has been going on for more than a decade, and has taken this much time because in the previous phases only grant money was being used to pay for the improvements.
Filiatreault said previous improvements have focused on drainage issues and repairing the road bed. The next phase of improvements will run from the vicinity of the Ford Road intersection with Kent Road toward Route 9.
— Greg Kennelty