Twp. proposes pay scale increases for some employees
BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer

Could almost double mayor's salary; goal is to achieve 'fair market rate'

EDISON - Edison Township is pondering an ordinance that would widen the pay ranges for department heads and other officials in the local government, including the mayor.While the measure was tabled at a meeting late last month, discussions are set to resume during theMay 12 Township Council meeting.

Supporters of the measure said the increased pay scales are needed to bring salaries in line with what officials in other towns are making, bringing Edison closer to, according to township spokesman Jerry Barca, "a fair market rate."

Opponents have said that the move is sending the wrong message at a time when the administration is expressing worry over the state of Edison's finances.

If passed, the ordinance would increase the maximum amount of money various officials could earn, as well as the minimum amount of money they must earn.

Barca said the ordinance does not increase the pay of the employees holding the positions it lists - only the potential earnings. He noted that the current salaries drawn by the listed township employees already fall within the new ranges.

"What this does is establish a range for directors," said Barca.

There is a raise, however, being planned for the mayor, Jun Choi, which would fall on the high end of the new pay scales. The mayor's salary, currently topped out at $49,000, would range between that and $97,000. The raise would effectively double his pay, if it were ultimately approved.

Other township employees, mostly department heads, would receive a pay of between $70,000 and $125,000 a year.

The director of law is currently paid between $22,500 and $35,000; the ordinance would expand this range to between $35,000 and $95,000.

The pay scale for the tax assessor, however, would go down if the ordinance is passed. The tax assessor position now pays $71,955 to $100,940 a year, and it could potentially go down to between $55,000 and $100,000.

The tax collector's pay scale would increase from a range of $45,184 to $77,250 to a scale of $55,000 to $100,000.

Barca said that besides the mayor and the director of law, no other raises have been budgeted for. He defended the mayor's proposed raise, saying that Choi is extremely underpaid given the duties and responsibilities he holds as the mayor of Edison.

"This is a salary range for the mayor of Edison Township, the fifth-biggest town, the first full-time mayor in the history of Edison. Previous mayors have been partners in law firms or had auto dealerships or their own business practices, like a dentist, and performed this duty, but this [proposed salary range] is for a full-time mayor in this township," said Barca.

However, Councilwoman Antonia Ricigliano, whose relationship with the mayor can credibly be described as tumultuous, said she would not support the proposal for many reasons, the first of which was that widening the pay ranges presented a contradictory image to the public.

"To go from $49,000 to $97,000 in one fell swoop when they are crying poverty, when saying some of the dire pronouncements they are making, how do they have the nerve?" asked Ricigliano.

The township's most recent budget process, which was completed about two months ago, held repeated warnings from various figures within the administration that Edison was facing harsh financial difficulties from overspending by previous administrations, and would need to be addressed.

"We face a structural fiscal deficit, and our known costs that we are obligated to pay based on decisions made in the past are higher still than revenues coming in from our own local property taxpayers and state and other sources, so we still, as a community, face structural fiscal problems that we still have not solved. It takes years to solve this," Choi said during a public budget meeting in March.

During that same meeting, though, he noted that he believes that certain township employees are grossly underpaid and that he would recommend higher salaries for some in order to keep Edison competitive.

Ricigliano also expressed skepticism that no other salary raises were planned, saying that the range increases could be a clever way of bypassing the council.

"Once a range has been established, [pay] can automatically be increased to the top of the range without being sent to council. It is perfectly within their rights," said Ricigliano.

She also expressed puzzlement as to why the range for the tax assessor had gone down while everyone else's had gone up. Overall, though, she felt that the proposal, at least at this time, was ill advised.

"I just think the timing is very poor. You know, if it's going to be as bad next year financially as they are saying, then why would they propose this [during] this year? Why don't we wait and see what is happening?" said Ricigliano.