Borough, unions agree to new contract terms
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

SPOTSWOOD - Borough police officers have come to terms with the governing body on a new four-year contract.

The deal will provide yearly pay increases of 4 percent, according to Borough Business Administrator Ronald Fasanello. The contract talks went into arbitration, but the two sides recently settled.

Officials also came to terms recently with the borough's other major bargaining union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which represents borough employees who are not part of the police department. Their raises came to 3 percent annually over the course of the threeyear contract, Fasanello said.

Both contracts include new provisions requiring employees to pay $25 per month toward health-care benefits for dependants. The payments begin Jan. 1, according to a resolution passed at last week's Borough Council meeting.

The benefits change drew praise from resident Frank Kardashian, and Councilman James Shearn said the borough is facing what could amount to a 2-cent increase in the municipal tax rate next year due to rising benefits costs alone. Council President Curtis Stollen said Spotswood is the first town in Middlesex County where PBA members are contributing to health-care costs.

Another change involves taking the position of police captain out of the borough PBA. The council passed a resolution stating the captains "will no longer be controlled or governed by collective negotiations agreement" between the town and PBA Local 225. The police department employs one captain.

Stollen said the position of captain is considered management, so officials felt it should be moved out of the local union. When captains are part of the same union as the men they supervise, it could be a conflict of interest.