RED BANK: SALARIES ON AGENDA
Salaries for the mayor and council members would remain unchanged, but the earnings potential of professionals at borough hall would rise under a proposed ordinance. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Six borough hall jobs will offer potential salaries above $100,000 if an ordinance on Wednesday night’s agenda is passed by the Red Bank council.
That’s up from three the last time the council adjusted salaries for its professionals, in 2014.
One of those jobs — public utilities director, a position held for the past year by Cliff Keen— could have its maximum salary increased by more than 20 percent.
[The following two paragraphs were added after the original version of this article was published.]The maximums in the ordinance give the borough leeway in contract negotiations, and passage doesn’t mean that the holders of those positions will get immediate raises to those levels, said borough Administrator Stanley Sickels.
The ordinance is “good for three to four years from now,” he said. “It just sets the ranges.” Specific salaries are set annually by resolution, he noted.
The jobs with potential salaries above $100,000 under the ordinance, arranged here from highest potential earnings, are:
Police Chief
Current minimum to maximum: $139,500 to $151,000
Proposed minimum to maximum: $139,500 to $175,000
Change in maximum: 15.9 percent
Post now held by: Darren McConnell
Actual 2o15 salary: $142,290
Construction/Fire Official
Current minimum to maximum: $105,638 to $129,113
Proposed minimum to maximum: $105,638 to $140,000
Change in maximum: 8.4 percent
Post now held by: Stanley Sickels
Actual 2o15 salary: $122,118
Public Utilities Director (formerly Assistant Administrator/Public Utilities Director, Certified Recycling Professional, Parking Utility Director & Parking Utility Operations Manager)
Current minimum to maximum: $81,477 to $99,547
Proposed minimum to maximum: $81,477 to $120,000
Change in maximum: 20.5 percent
Post now held by: Cliff Keen
Actual 2o15 salary: $94,153
Director of Finance, Chief Financial Officer & Comptroller (formerly Chief Financial Officer, Comptroller & Water & Sewer Collector)
Current minimum to maximum: $88,668 to $108,372
Proposed minimum to maximum: $88,668 to $120,000
Change in maximum: 10.7 percent
Post now held by: Eugenia Poulos
Actual 2o15 salary: $100,490
Information Technology Director
Current minimum to maximum: Job didn’t exist in 2014
Proposed minimum to maximum: $90,000 to $125,000
Post now held by: Joe Fagliarone
Actual 2o15 salary: $95,000
Fire Sub-code Official
Current minimum to maximum: $79,211 to $96,813
Proposed minimum to maximum: $79,211 to $107,000
Change in maximum: 10.5 percent
Post now held by: John Drucker
Actual 2o15 salary: $91,567
In addition, several jobs are edging close to the $100,000 mark:
Tax/Utility Collector, Water/Sewer Collector (formerly Tax/Utility Collector)
Current minimum to maximum: $76,500 to $88,500
Proposed minimum to maximum: $76,500 to $95,000
Post now held by: Ashlesha Deshpande
Change in maximum: 7.3 percent
Actual 2o15 salary: $86,700
Director of Planning & Zoning, Administrative Officer & Certified Land Use Administrator (formerly Administrative Officer, Director Department of Planning, Certified Land Use Administrator)
Current minimum to maximum: $60,864 t0 $74,390
Proposed minimum to maximum: $60,864 t0 $90,000
Change in maximum: 21 percent
Post now held by: Glenn Carter
Actual 2o15 salary: $70,360
In addition to the job of construction official, Sickels also serves in these posts covered by the ordinance:
Borough Administrator, Qualified Purchasing Agent, Deputy Clerk
Current minimum to maximum: $41,710 – $51,000
Proposed minimum to maximum: $41,710 – $65,000
Change in maximum:$27.4 percent
Actual 2015 salary: $48,206
The salaries for the mayor ($7,301) and council members ($3,650) would remain unchanged.
About three dozen positions not covered by collective bargaining — under the Police Benevolent Association or the Communications Workers of America — are covered by the salary ordinance. Here’s the full list, which includes almost three dozen positions: RB Salaries 2016-14
And here’s the draft agenda for Wednesday night: RB Council Agenda 072716