East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor addresses the audience who came to the community meeting on Wednesday, March 23, at the East Orange Public Library, to discuss the $134 million Calendar Year 2016 City Budget with a 1.9 percent tax increase he later introduced on Monday, March 28, at City Council’s regular meeting, although the Police and Fire department contracts had still not been settled.
EAST ORANGE, NJ — East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor introduced his $134 million Calendar Year 2016 City Budget with a 1.9-percent tax increase at the City Council’s regular meeting Monday, March 28, despite the fact that contract negotiations are ongoing with the Police and Fire department unions.
But 3rd Ward Councilwoman Quilla Talmadge, chairwoman of the council’s Finance Committee, said this was not a problem. The committee is responsible for reviewing the budget before being approved by the full governing body and sent to Trenton.
“They have money in reserve for that,” said Talmadge on Monday, March 28. “It shouldn’t affect this budget.”
Some council members and the unions representing the Police and Fire department bargaining units, however, said they don’t necessarily agree with Taylor’s new budget or Talmadge’s preliminary assessment of it.
“Well, if there is a reserve, I’m not seeing it,” said FMBA Local 23 President Garrett Winn on Tuesday, March 29. “We are still negotiating and they are still trying to nickel-and-dime us, when we’ve been out of contract since 2013. And even with the contract prior to that, we were given such a low raise increase that it was laughable.”
Despite that, Winn said he and his firefighters have continued to perform their jobs. In fact, he said they are known, both inside and outside of East Orange, for going above and beyond the call of duty, when it comes to serving the community.
“The East Orange Fire Department is very visible in the community. We just don’t work in the city of East Orange; we volunteer our time and give back in many capacities, but the city never wants to compensate us or treat us fairly,” said Winn. “I’m not a political dude by nature, so some of the things I say may be politically incorrect, but when you are trying to lowball the workers of the city that dedicate their lives to keeping the city safe and they can never get a decent raise, but the city can find money to pay retired people that they stick in the Fire Department, that baffles me.”
As chairwoman of the council’s Public Safety Committee, 5th Ward Councilwoman Alicia Holman is the governing body’s official liaison to the newly created Public Safety Department, which now includes the Police and Fire departments, as well as all of the city’s first responders and emergency service providers. As a member of the council’s negotiating committee, Holman said she feels the pain of Winn and the other police officers and firefighters, regarding contract negotiations with the Taylor administration.
Holman agreed with Talmadge that funds have been set aside to settle the outstanding Police and Fire contracts, but said she wonders what the Taylor administration is doing about it.
“The administration did put money in reserve for that, but is it enough for a fair and reasonable contract for both departments?” Talmadge wondered Tuesday, March 29. “With that being said, I know how negotiations work but, if you put money aside for it, then you know what you want to offer, so make the offer and put this to rest. It’s been long enough for both sides.”
Holman said it’s “time to sit and have real conversations with realistic numbers from both sides.”
Council Chairman Ted Green agreed, saying on Monday, March 28, “Right now, we still have a few more contracts that we need to settle; Police and Fire have not settled their contracts. We don’t know how this is going to affect the budget, because we have to factor those settlements into it, if and when they eventually are made. As a council, we have to be very conscious of how those two items will affect the budget. We’re not going to put the burden on our taxpayers.”
According to Taylor, his administration is not burdening anyone in East Orange unnecessarily, saying, “The cost of doing business goes up every year,” but despite that, he has been working hard to do everything he and his administrative team can do to responsibly address the city’s fiscal, financial and contractual issues.
“It’s called planning; it’s called teamwork; it’s called making difficult decisions,” said Taylor on Monday, March 28. “It’s important to recognize that the collective bargaining process is just that — it’s a process. I’m not going to get into details. I don’t believe in negotiating in public, as the management representative for the administration. But, I fully respect the collective bargaining process. I fully expect to reach a fair agreement with our officers. I fully expect them to protect and serve our community.”
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