Task Force Outlines Staffing Recommendations for Consolidated Princeton

After months of hard work, members of the Transition Task Force on Wednesday outlined recommendations for a consolidated Princeton.

Among the suggestions the Transition Task Force will present to the governing bodies on Monday, May 21 are a proposal to eliminate 15.5 positions, add an emergency management position and not offer an early retirement program for police officers.

Princeton Borough Council and Princeton Township Committee have final say over all decisions.

Specific recommendations include eliminating the following positions (some are duplicate positions, meaning two or more people have the same job title, which will be redundant in a combined municipality).

• Administrator (Administration and Finance)
• Deputy Clerk (Administration and Finance)
• Secretary (Administration and Finance)
• PT Assessing Clerk (Administration and Finance)
• PT tax Clerk (Administration and Finance)
• PT Tax Clerk (Administration and Finance)
• Construction Inspector (Engineering)
• Zoning Officer (Engineering)
• Administrative Assistant (Engineering
• Electric Subcode Official (Engineering)
• Records Clerk in 2014 (Police)
• Administrative Assistant in 2014 (Police)
• Dispatcher in 2014 (Police)
• Equipment Operator (Public Works)
• Equipment Operator (Public Works)
• Maintenance Person II (Public Works)
• Administrative Secretary (Zoning)

Employees in redundant positions would be selected first on skills/ability, past performance and disciplinary action. If candidates remain equal, seniority and Township/Borough affiliation would be considered. 

The Task Force recommends employees who leave Princeton’s employ as a result of consolidation be offered severance packages in addition to current muncipal separation policies. Severance packages would include one week for every year of local service with a minimum of eight weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks.

The combined cost of separation and severance for all affected employees is expected to cost between $227,000 to $527,000, according to the Task Force.

There is also a recommendation to offer outplacement services to affected employees, for an additional cost of approximately $6,000 to 10,000.

Task Force Chairman Mark Freda said the Public Safety Subcommittee endorses a 56-police officer model 2013, with a plan to start a search for new officers as quickly as possible. It will take up to a year to find and train new officers, he said.

The subcommittee decided against offering an early retirement incentive to police because it is too expensive, he said. Instead police sergeants (the rank targeted for reduction) would be allowed to retire at their normal time. Should there be too many officers post-consolidation, some sergeants may be moved to patrol duty, but receive sergeant’s pay. 

After much discussion and little agreement, the Task Force recommended that a committee make the consolidation personnel decisions and present those to the governing bodies for final approval. The committee would include the Borough Administrator, Acting Township Administrator, a facilitator, three Borough representatives and three Township representatives (the administrators would not vote on their own positions).

Task Force Member Bernie Miller voted against the recommendation because Township Committee only has five members, so three representatives on a committee would subject the meetings to the Open Public Meetings Act.

The Transition Task Force recommended that non-senior positions be decided by the two administrators, subject to approval by the governing bodies. Only Mark Freda voted nay, saying he does not believe the governing bodies need to be involved in that level of detail. 

Other recommendations include:

• Court and the Violations Bureaus would be located at the Township Municipal Complex at 400 Witherspoon St.
• The Police Department would be located at the Township Municipal Complex. There may be a need for new lockers and a bigger fitness facility.
• Still pending are recommendations about where Police Dispatch will be located, and addressing concerns about adequate parking at municipal complex.