Township Non-Union Employees to Receive Raise

After a six-month wage freeze for the township's non-union employees, a salary ordinance approved Tuesday by the Township Committee would make those employees eligible for 1.5 percent merit raises, pro-rated over half of the year.

Township administrator Bruce McArthur said the ordinance covers about 77 employees, mostly full-time and some part-time, who are not part of the police union or the Teamsters' union covering the department of public works.

The Township Committee had enacted a wage freeze for those employees for the six months of the year. McArthur said the salary ordinance approved this week would allow approximately 1.5 percent merit increases for those employees, but he added the terms have not yet been worked out.

The total wages account for all non-union employees is about $4,300,000. The cost to the township for the potential wage increases could be approximately $33,000, half of what it would have been if wages had not been frozen for the first half of the year, McArthur said.

However, McArthur said the township is looking  are looking at an overall reduction of about $170,000 in the wage category for non-union employees compared with last year because of reductions in staffing.

The salary guide increases a minimum and maximum allowable salary range. For example, the top pay range is for CFO/administrator, a position filled by McArthur, with a minimum of about $115,000 and a maximum of $200,000. McArthur said his salary is in the mid-range.

Mid-points in ranges, at $158,000 in his case, are tied to "market" based on survey data, McArthur said.