PBA Rep: Our Benefit Costs Go Up, But Salaries Don't

Washington Township and the school districts that serve it will save a combined $74,599 in pension costs in Fiscal Year 2012, recently negotiated by the state's top lawmakers, and signed by Gov. Chris Christie.

“The changes to the health care contributions were definitely needed to control costs,” Mayor Ken Short said. “This most recent budget, we added $74,000 in health care expenses for the municipality from the previous year. This will definitely help with future costs. Best of all, it gives employees different options–they can choose lower or higher co-pays and premiums or whatever suits them.”

But Washington Township Police Det. Thomas Falleni, PBA Local #301’s delegate, disagreed: “It’s a good idea, but it wasn’t done right.”

“This department is bare bones as it is, and now we have to contribute more to our benefits. Our costs go up, but our salaries don’t,” Falleni said.

The pension and health care reform bill requires state and local government workers who belong to the Public Employees Retirement System, as well as teachers and other education workers under their own retirement system, to pay an additional 1 percent of their salaries toward their pensions as of July 1—bringing them up to a 6.5 percent contribution. Another 1 percent would be phased in over seven years, for a total of 7.5 percent.

State and local police, as well as firefighters, must contribute an additional 1.5 percent of their salaries to their own pension funds. Local police and firefighters will be contributing 10 percent; state police will be contributing 9 percent.

The bill also moves the retirement age for new teachers and non-uniformed employees from 60 years old to 65. To be eligible for early retirement, the employees now have to work 30 years instead of 25.

The bill will have a more significant impact on the cost of health benefits, as it requires all public employees and certain public retirees to contribute toward the cost of health care benefits coverage based upon a percentage of the cost of coverage. Public employees could see current health costs at least doubled, or tripled in some cases, with contributions phasing in over four years.

Members of Washington Township department have not had a pay increase since 2008 due to failed contract negotiations between the squad and township, Falleni said. The Washington Township Police Department, as a whole, is ranked 29 out of 36 Morris County squads in average pay.

“Each department should be looked at individually,” Falleni said. “There are some departments out there that definitely have extra stuff. We don’t have that. We’re getting hammered right now, and it’s hurting us. It will lead to a trickle down effect and end up hurting the public in the long term.”

The squad has reduced its force by 10 members since 2000 and is currently not hiring.

For a home in Washington Township with annual property taxes of $10,000, the police department receives $642, according to Falleni.

“But every year for the next four years, I have to pay more and more to my [benefit] costs,” Falleni said. “Do you think that $642—which goes toward the entire department—going down a couple bucks is going to be noticed by the taxpayer? I doubt it. It’ll probably just go up in a different section.”

Still, Washington Township committeeman Dave Kennedy—a former Roxbury Township police captain—said "we’ve come to a point where [the state] has had to make changes.”

"I understand both sides of the situation, but I don’t know what the best answer is." Kennedy said. "Going forward, though, I definitely have sympathy for the people this is affecting."

At Washington Township CFO Kevin Lifer's request, the township committee agreed to put the health care portion of the reform into effect for the municipality’s employees beginning Aug. 1. The law states the deadline for a municipality to enforce the legislation as Jan. 1, 2012, but Lifer said this would give the township an opportunity to begin the phase-in process sooner than later.

“I don’t think it will affect employees too much in the beginning,” Lifer said. “The phase-in method helps to pad that somewhat. I really don’t know how it’ll affect the employees until they really begin to see it in their paychecks.”

According to the information from the governor's office, Washington Township's contribution to pensions will drop from $462,493 to $439,599 in Fiscal Year 2012, a savings of $22,894.

The Washington Township School District contributions will drop from $621,486 to $590,722, a savings of $30,764.

The West Morris Regional High School District contributions will drop from $423,040 to $402,099, a savings of $20,941.

Administrators from the Washington Township School District said they could not comment on the situation, since the school board is currently in negotations with the education association.

Long Valley Patch tried contacting Joyce Hartmann, the West Morris Regional Education Association’s president for comment on the topic, but did not receive a response.