SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Locked in a feud with the New Jersey State Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association and the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, the South Orange Board of Trustees and South Orange Village President Sheena Collum released a statement in response to a letter that FMBA President Edwin Donnelly and PBA President Patrick Colligan sent to the BOT on May 26 decrying the proposed two-year pay freeze that is included in South Orange’s 2020 municipal budget. The $36,873,694.78 budget passed on first reading at the May 11 BOT meeting; the public hearing and second reading is scheduled for the June 8 meeting. Police and fire salaries were not the only freezes proposed — all municipal employees, union and nonunion, are included.
“Providing for the public safety is also what the people expect of their local officials,” Donnelly and Colligan’s letter read. “Unfortunately, the village president of South Orange, Sheena C. Collum, has again chosen to put her ego, her social media accounts and her political interests ahead of public safety. Her demand of South Orange police and firefighters to take pay cuts or lose their jobs while we still fight this pandemic is unconscionable.”
The letter accused Collum of trying to violate the union agreements, in addition accusing her of threatening that if police and firefighters do not accept the pay freeze, the community pool will remain shut. This is not true; the BOT approved at its May 27 meeting the hiring of a pool manager for the 2020 season in the hopes that the pool can open this summer, which depends on COVID-19 response.
Despite South Orange Village Administrator Adam Loehner’s budget presentation at the May 11 meeting, which detailed the financial losses the village could see and the cuts that have already been made due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Donnelly and Colligan said the pay freeze is not related to the coronavirus.
“Let there be no doubt, this move is not COVID-19 related,” they wrote in the letter. “It is a politically motivated attack because Ms. Collum has a philosophical belief that police and firefighters are overstaffed and overcompensated. This move is an attempt to break apart a union contract, one that she hopes will reignite her to-date failed efforts to abolish the South Orange police and fire services so she can pay another town to patrol her streets.”
In their response to this letter, Collum and all six members of the BOT recognized the two unions that did approve the pay freeze request: the police Superior Officers Association and the Teamsters Union. They also outlined how the pay freeze will work over the next two years.
“We asked all employees to forgo pay raises equivalent to 2 percent for two years. For an employee earning $50,000 during a fiscal year, this would be $1,000; for an employee earning $100,000, it would be $2,000; for an employee making $150,000, it would be $3,000,” the statement read. “Police officers and firefighters who were expecting to receive raises exceeding 2 percent were asked to contribute the equivalent of 2 percent to ensure parity and equity among all employees. This was not targeted at one group or ‘union busting’; all employees were asked to join in our shared sacrifice. Without agreements, we would have to implement demotions, layoffs and furloughs — something we do not want to do.”
Collum and the trustees explained in the statement that on April 23, they had a virtual meeting with local union leaders to talk about the budget. The two primary goals were to keep village employees employed and to minimize the financial impact on local taxpayers.
“During the call, we were also asked to clarify whether this proposal would affect additional earnings outside of base pay for police and fire. It would not,” Collum and the BOT wrote in their response. “Longevity, uniform allowances, stipends, overtime, side jobs, adherence to the step guide and maintaining seniority would remain untouched, as would benefits associated with providing quality health care and making pension payments.”
Addressing Donnell and Colligan’s accusations of retaliation and making decisions without the input of the unions, the village’s statement said the majority of employees have been understanding of South Orange’s current financial situation.
“To date, the sentiment of the overwhelming majority of our employees has been understanding and we are so grateful for that. We believe, while not ideal, what we requested was reasonable, fair and in good faith given our present circumstances; while at the same time accomplishing the two stated goals of avoiding layoffs and not passing our shortfalls along to our residents,” the statement read. “To suggest that any members of our governing body are making decisions in secret, being less than transparent with the public, promoting political vendettas, acting in a retaliatory fashion or making our community ‘less safe’ is truly unfortunate discourse, and we need to rise above that.”
Collum and the trustees discussed the letter from the state unions at the May 27 BOT meeting.
“We’ve had a great and collaborative relationship with our Citizens Budget Advisory Committee,” Collum said. “While maybe in some communities there might be a disconnect between the village president or mayor and the respective city council, we have never as a governing body operated in that fashion. But I do recognize the gravity of receiving a statement such as that.”
Trustee Karen Hartshorn Hilton, who is the chairwoman of the Finance and Capital Projects Committee, said Donnelly and Colligan’s letter is very disappointing.
“I feel very strongly that we’ve done a good job collaborating with each other and analyzing the budget through and through,” she said. “It was a thorough process and it’s a good end result, and sadly, we’ve asked people to not have a 2-percent raise increase. But we haven’t gone against longevity or the step increases. I think our budget is a strong one and we should be moving forward with it.”
Trustees Steve Schnall, Bob Zuckerman and Summer Jones all voiced support for the budget and for Collum. Trustees Walter Clarke and Donna Coallier, who are both on the Finance and Capital Projects Committee with Hartshorn Hilton, did as well.
“We’re all in a tough spot,” Coallier said. “We have people in our community who are themselves front-line workers, or are themselves restaurant workers who no longer have jobs, or are struggling because their family has a couple of hourly wage earners yet have to now stay at home. We have workers that are contractors whose main sources of revenue have just dwindled. Some of our residents are really, really hurting. To me, this idea of forgoing a 2-percent pay raise in the face of what our whole community is suffering from didn’t seem like a big ask. Some of our unions do see this issue the same way I do, and I wish the other couple would come along and see it from that perspective as well.”
Representatives from FMBA Local 40 and FMBA Local 240 did not return a request for comment by press time on June 2. PBA Local 12 deferred to Colligan for comment.
Editor’s note: This article was modified after publication to address concerns raised by the NJFMBA regarding the article’s depiction of last year’s village presidential election.
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