February 24, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Wyckoff PBA, township committee reach salary contract by John Koster The Wyckoff Township Committee and the Wyckoff Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 261 have reached a contract agreement after mediation with the Public Employment Relations Commission. The new contract will extend into 2014 and includes an average increase of 2.71 percent for the seven years of the agreement. The top pay for a veteran patrol officer with 10 years of service will be $108,114 based on the new contract. The increases negotiated and approved are 3 percent for 2008, 2.5 percent for 2009 and for 2010, 3 percent for 2011, 2.75 for 2012, 2.5 percent in 2013, and 2.75 for 2014. Settling the contract through mediation before advancing to arbitration was credited with saving the township taxpayers an estimated $30,000. The contract affects 22 sworn officers, including captains, lieutenants, sergeants, detectives, and patrol officers, but does not include the chief of police or the police dispatchers, who are not members of the PBA. The new contract also includes freezing the academic salary rate and the first-year salary rate during the contract period, and adding two additional salary steps or years before new patrol officers reach the top salary level, leaving 10 years rather than eight before a patrol officer reaches top pay. The new contract also includes an employee salary contribution to the cost of health care on an annual basis. That contribution was set at $480 for single coverage, $600 for parent/child or husband/wife coverage, and $750 for family coverage. Wyckoff officials said the new contract reflects a wage increase that slows the growth of salaries and obtains employee contributions to the cost of health benefits, reflecting the realities of New Jersey’s interest arbitration system. Township will seek $2M grant to buy Russell Orchards Representatives from Wyckoff will meet with Bergen County officials March 1 to make a case for a $2 million Bergen County Open Space grant to buy Russell Orchards and keep the land for municipal open space. The five-acre tract, still dotted with fruit trees, reportedly has issues with fertilizer and pesticide contamination that make construction of single-family or multi-unit housing problematic for developers. CB Realty Investments now owns the land, which was operated as a farm with a fruit and vegetable stand for many years. Wyckoff Township Administrator Robert Shannon said last week that he would be appearing before county officials on March 1, along with any members of the Wyckoff Township Committee who are not bound by work commitments. “All members of the governing body who do not have a time commitment will be there,” Shannon said. Wyckoff also has money set aside in a municipal open space fund to augment the money the township hopes to obtain from Bergen County. Members of the township committee had discussed the future of Russell Orchards at great length at work sessions, weighing the desire for more open space with possible problems due to contaminants. Wyckoff has a number of open spaces located near Mahwah and Midland Park. The Russell Orchards tract is in the Sicomac section of Wyckoff, near the headquarters of Wyckoff Volunteer Fire Department Company #3 and close to the border with Passaic County. J. KOSTER On-street parking banned during storms The Wyckoff Police Department reminds residents that when snow is forecast, overnight on-street parking is prohibited. Parked vehicles create an obstruction for plows and prevent the streets from being plowed from curb to curb. The police department asks all residents to make every effort to remove their vehicles from the roadway when snow is present or forecast. Summonses will be issued and/or vehicles will be towed if left on the roadway or causing a traffic obstruction. Residents are asked to instruct their contractors not to plow snow from driveways into or across roads. Snow should not obstruct the roadways, which are subject to regular plowing by road department. Snow should not be shoveled or plowed onto sidewalks or at street corners. When residents or contractors are shoveling snow off walkways, they should put the snow onto the lawns or to the right of the driveway so the plow will not push the snow back on the driveway. NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LEADER IN CONTEMPORARY VARICOSE VEIN TREATMENT 265 Ackerman Ave. Ridgewood, NJ 201 791 9339 www.chubackveins.com Caring for Your Beautiful Landscape is our Specialty LET THE PROFESSIONALS SAVE YOU TIME AND MONEY Offer includes exam, dental cleaning and complete digital x-rays. Expires 3/21/2010. 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