In June, mediators appointed by the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) issued three interest arbitration awards. The first interest arbitration awards to be issued since the expiration of the 2% cap. Each of these awards arose out of an impasse between a municipality and the local PBA union representing municipal police in reaching a collective negotiations agreement. And, in all three interest arbitration awards, the collective negotiations agreement expired on December 31, 2018.
Issues such as longevity pay, uniform allowance, and education reimbursement were brought up in these awards. However, perhaps the biggest issues addressed by the arbitrators and common to all three of these awards were the changes to each agreement’s salary guide, and the amount of employee health insurance contributions.
Broadly, the mediators gave consideration to the legislative intent of P.L. 2011, c. 78 and the 2% property tax levy cap. Two of the decisions are under appeal by the collective bargaining units. The League is still reviewing these awards and working to provide an analysis of the impact that the expiration of the 2% cap had on these awards and will have on property taxpayers across the state. The awards are available on the PERC website.
Please see the item below under “Also of Interest” about a joint program between the NJ Association of Counties, the NJ Municipal Managers Association, the Government Finance Officers of NJ and the League on interest arbitration.
Contacts:
• Michael F. Cerra, Assistant Executive Director, mcerra@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x120.
• Frank Marshall, Esq., League Staff Attorney, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x137.