Salary Structure for Non-Union Employees Introduced

The Township of Cranford introduced a skeleton of a salary structure on Tuesday night that would provide a more specific pay scale for incoming employees that are not in a union.

Currently, the Township’s salary ordinance was so broad that it defeated the purpose, the committee stated in a previous meeting.

“It became apparent that Cranford was falling short,” liaison to the salary review committee, commissioner Lisa Adubato said at Tuesday’s meeting.

At Monday evening’s workshop meeting, Township Administrator Joe Hartnett explained that the salary structure the salary review committee is looking to introduce is currently just a skeleton, but would put Cranford in a far more competitive position to recruit or maintain personnel.

Future decisions will be made on where to place people in these pay scales, Hartnett stated.

“It’s neither the best pay around or the worst pay around,” according to Hartnett.

After 4 years, employees will achieve their way to the max salary based on performance. The maximum pays are average or mid-range pays, while those below the max put Cranford further away from nearby averages, according to Hartnett.

“At the maximum of the range, it gives us the opportunity to not only attract but retain the best qualified employees,” Adubato said at the official meeting.

When asked, Hartnett said this introduction would have no immediate impact on current salaries.

Hartnett explained that in past years the Township had non-union employees that received raises, while union employees did not.

“You should be consistent in how you treat people, Hartnett said.

He added that unions have already been in touch and seem eager to negotiate for the Township’s Union Employees.

Deputy Mayor Ed O’Malley was the only commissioner who voted against the ordinance, because he felt it was not the right time to be doing this.

“We are going to be beginning negotiations with our two largest unions,” he explained.

The new suggestions follow the salary review committee’s extensive report on managers and non-union staff within the Township, as well as Hartnett’s research on salary structures throughout the county and in similar towns.