Crime & Safety

Point Pleasant Beach Police Chief Says Community Will Have Less Service if Layoffs Approved

PBA likely to go to arbitration to fight possible layoffs of three officers

Point Pleasant Beach Police Chief Kevin O'Hara says it will be difficult for police to handle much beyond emergency calls if the Borough Council lays off three police officers.

"Emergency and priority calls will always be handled," O'Hara said. "But some other things might not be able to be done."

The Borough Council  voted 4 to 2 on Tuesday night to notify the state that three police officers may be laid off. State notification is required by civil service regulations anytime layoffs are proposed.

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Councilman Michael Corbally, who is chairman of the council's finance committee, made the motion for the state notification. Councilmen Frank Rizzo, Sean Hennessy and Jeff Dyer voted in favor of the notifications.

If the council moves forward, Officers Paschal Drew, Scott Nase and Kyle Boturla will lose their jobs.

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"I certainly hope it doesn't come to fruition," O'Hara said. "We don't want to see our department cut anymore, especially since we're already short-staffed."

He said the department has seven fewer employees than it did five years ago.

Four years ago, the department had 26 officers, now there are 22 and a state Department of Community Affairs report says it should have 24, O'Hara said.

He added that there is one less full-time dispatcher, and the clerical staff has been reduced from four to two.

"I think seven fewer is pretty significant," O'Hara said.

"We've been negotiating heavily the last couple of weeks, and this was a real set-back for the PBA, especially without knowing it's coming," he added.

After the council voted Tuesday night, Detective Clint Daniel, vice president of the local Policemen's Benevolent Association, said he was shocked the council discussed the matter in public.

"I would have worn my suit and tie if I knew I'd be getting up and saying anything," said Daniel. "And we would have had all our guys here. They'll be here next time."

The next meeting is scheduled for March 8.

On Wednesday, Daniel said in an e-mail that he and other local PBA officials talked to their attorney, Richard Loccke, of Hackensack.

"The PBA is open to any talks that the council may want," Daniel wrote. "But due to the egregious nature of last night's vote, we must follow our attorney's advice and proceed with our option to file for mediation which could lead to arbitration."

A state arbitrator has the power to mandate salary increases and other benefits beyond the levels approved by local governing bodies.

Council members Kristine Tooker and Tim Lurie voted against moving toward possible layoffs, saying the action was "premature" since negotiations are still ongoing.

Mayor Vincent Barrella, who called the state notification "an unnecessary declaration of war on the police department," did not have a vote because there was no tie.

Barrella said the borough can only make out worse through arbitration because the police have agreed to zero increases and made other concessions.

"Now we're going to have to go through arbitration, spend a lot of money on legal fees and have to give them a 2 percent raise," Barrella said on Wednesday.

Barrella said the police proposal, including overtime pay, still left the borough's proposed budget "balanced" with a 1.5 cent per $100 increase, slightly lower than last year's increase of 1.6 cents.

For a house assessed at $700,000,  an increase of 1.5 cents per $100 will result in a tax increase of $105 per year, Barrella said.

PBA officials said it appeared to them that the progress in negotiations started to fall apart when the PBA would not agree to elimination of over-time pay.

When O'Hara was asked about that on Wednesday, he said he's not sure if the borough can force the department to forgo overtime pay since the federal Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that overtime be paid.

There is also a state law requiring that overtime be paid when full-time employees work more than 40 hours per week.

Daniel and other local PBA officials contend that the borough is required to pay overtime.

"We gave them four of the five things they wanted and that wasn't enough," Daniel said with exasperation. "Overtime is the only thing we didn't give up, and they might do layoffs. This is personal."

On Wednesday, Daniel released a copy of the PBA's latest labor proposal, dated Feb. 14, to Barrella and the council.

It's a response to the borough's last proposal from Jan. 24.

"After consideration of the budgetary crisis and being willing to help out the residents, as well as to avoid lay-offs of our officers which we feel would be detrimental to the town, the PBA is willing to make the following concessions for the calendar year 2011," the proposal says.

It then lists the concessions, outside of salary increases, including: a one-year delay in "scheduled step and longevity increases"; elimination of officer-in-charge pay, which is paid to officers when they have to serve as shift supervisors, and elimination of tuition reimbursement except for "previous contractual obligations."

It also calls for the borough to no longer collect $20 out of each officer's paycheck as a health insurance co-pay.

"As per Division of Pensions and Benefits, the amount taken out for co-pay ($20.00) should cease immediately and all PBA members should be made whole retroactive to January 1st, 2011," the proposal states. "PBA members will continue to pay 1.5% of their salary towards healthcare costs, as mandated by the state."

Daniel said in an e-mail on Wednesday that the borough deducts $2o from each pay check "to help with the cost of healthcare" as agreed to in the last contract.

" As of 1/1/2011, the town has been deducting that amount as well as 1.5% of our entire salary, which was mandated by the state," Daniel said.

He said the state Division of Pensions has ruled that is improper and that the new 1.5 percent supersedes the $20 and should have ceased on January 1.

"I have advised Christine Riehl, the borough administrator, of the error, but the town has still not rectified it," Daniel said.  

The line about how police should be "made whole" means that the borough owes each officer $60 because there have been three pay periods so far this year, with $20 due from each pay period for a total of $60, Daniel said.

Riehl could not be immediately reached for comment.

Barrella said all other borough employees are taking 17 unpaid days (furlough days) to help save money in a tight budget year.

However, he said, when employees take those days, they have to take them together as a department, so the whole department has to shut down.

"We can't have the police department shutting down," he said.

The proposal also says that any dispatch overtime will first go to full-time communication operators, then would go to part-time (headquarters-certified) communication operators, and finally to full-time certified police officers.


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