An Important Message From Mayor Charles Kahwaty - PBA Collective Bargaining Negotiations
There has been some controversy in recent weeks concerning the Borough and its negotiations with the Franklin Lakes PBA for a new collective bargaining agreement. I believe it is necessary to clarify the Mayor and Council’s position on some of the issues.
First and foremost, we all agree that the Borough of Franklin Lakes is fortunate to have an outstanding police force. Under the leadership of Chief Mark McCombs, they are committed, hard-working and diligent. We, as residents of the Borough, all benefit from their exceptional service. We also agree that, given the critical role of public safety – there is no more important function of municipal government – we need to assure that our police officers are fairly and competitively paid. We are committed to a standard of excellence to which we are accustomed. To meet that commitment, we must properly compensate our officers. We also need to provide the equipment and resources to allow the Police to function effectively, particularly in light of the new safety and security threats that we are confronting on a regular basis. Certainly, in my 13½ years as Mayor and member of the Council, we have taken this responsibility seriously and provided funding to properly equip our officers.
I am a member of the negotiating committee that has met with the PBA for no less than five formal negotiation sessions, as well as two mediations – not to mention countless informal discussions between these negotiation sessions. Early on in our negotiations, we presented a settlement proposal on salary that was quite generous. Without going into details, the proposal was based on percentage increases which are more than any other Borough employee group, more than any contract in the other 12 Northwest Bergen towns, much more than inflation, with higher starting salaries by far than any other Northwest Bergen town, and with salary levels that would provide higher salaries over a 10-, 20- or 30-year career than nearly every Northwest Bergen town. We have provided the data to the PBA which demonstrates all of this quite clearly.
There is also a larger context that Franklin Lakes taxpayers must be aware of when arguments are made regarding salaries and expenditures. The Council and I have a responsibility to create a fiscally sound budget that preserves our Aaa bond rating (best in the State) and our municipal tax rate (second lowest in Bergen County after Alpine). In the past two years, garbage collection costs have risen by nearly 120%. In addition, thanks to the Supreme Court’s affordable housing mandate imposed on us, we will need to borrow approximately $8 to $10 million for the construction of affordable housing, and this is after applying potential grant funding. These costs impose an extraordinary burden on towns like Franklin Lakes, and we must respond in a prudent manner. While acknowledging the achievements of our men and women in blue, we are also accountable to our other municipal employees and residents.
Unfortunately, we are at an impasse in our negotiations. There is a process in the PBA contract that is to be followed when the Borough and the PBA are at an impasse – and that process is arbitration. Based on criteria laid out in State law, an independent arbitrator will make a decision that is binding on all parties. The PBA arbitration hearing has been scheduled for next week. No matter the decision, we, the Mayor and Council, will continue to stand by our commitment to public safety and to our outstanding Police Department.
Charles J.X. Kahwaty, Mayor
PBA Salary Comparison links: