With little fanfare, Township Council gave final approval to a salary ordinance that covers part-time and seasonal employees, as well as exempt or non-union employees — mostly department heads and depar
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
With little fanfare, Township Council gave final approval to a salary ordinance that covers part-time and seasonal employees, as well as exempt or non-union employees — mostly department heads and department directors — Tuesday night.
The mayor and Township Council, who fall under the ordinance, will not receive a pay increase. The salaries for the governing body will remain at $13,724 for the mayor and $10,596 for the four council members in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Those salaries have not changed since 2002.
But the salaries for the non-union members at the Municipal Building — ranging from the Municipal Court judge, the director of public works, the municipal engineer and the tax collector to the executive director of the Office on Aging — will increase by 1.95 percent in 2015 and 2.25 percent in 2016. The pay is frozen for 2014.
The terms of the salary ordinance, which covers 2014 through 2016, are identical to those of the various unions’ contracts with Lawrence Township.
Longevity pay for employees hired before Jan. 1, 2013, will be frozen at the 2013 level. Employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2014, will not receive longevity pay at all. Longevity pay is extra money paid to employees. It is based on the number of years the employee has worked for the township.
An employee who has worked for Lawrence Township for eight years will receive $800 in longevity pay. At 12 years, longevity pay is $1,100 and at 16 years, it is $1,400. An employee who has worked for 20 years will get $1,700 in longevity pay. At 24 years, it is $2,000 and at 28 years, it is $2,300.
The salary range for the Municipal Court judge in 2014 is $60,378 to $93,252, based on the number of years the judge has worked for Lawrence Township. It takes 11 years to reach the top of the salary range.
The director of public works and the municipal engineer will earn between $112,284 and $129,654 in 2014. The superintendent of recreation and the health officer will earn between $97,180 and $122,645, and the tax collector will be paid between $81,101 and $99,865.
The comptroller and the tax assessor will be paid between $80,598 and $109,466 in 2014. The assistant comptroller will earn between $61,499 and $77,660, while the deputy tax assessor’s salary ranges from $55,343 to $75,839.
The ordinance also applies to part-time and seasonal employees. This includes the armed Municipal Court attendant, who will earn $23.16 per hour this year, $23.61 in 2015 and $24.14 in 2016. Laborers who are hired for the summer will earn $20.50 per hour this year. They will be paid $20.90 in 2015 and $21.37 in 2016.
Lifeguards, who are paid hourly, will be paid the federal minimum wage up to a maximum of $15 per hour for 2014 through 2016. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. The same standard applies to recreation aides, who will be paid the federal minimum wage up to $35.75 per hour for 2014 through 2016.

