City Employees: Salaries & Longevity

Ordinance #36 of 2004 outlined the salaries for certain city employees who are not part of any particular collective bargaining agreement, or union. The salaries were determined to be competitive with positions that are part of collective bargaining agreements, and each is listed as having a specified "range" of pay based on factors like seniority, educational background, and longevity in a certain position. City Manager Jim Barber said that the ranges of pay were set forth. as guidelines for the next several years, and that no city employees are currently receiving the top salaries in' their respective positions.

"That salary ordinance is passed every year, and it's the city manager's discretion as to who gets what amount," said brigantine Taxpayers Association President Anne Phillips during the meeting's public portion. "Certainly this leads people to believe that certain employees are going to be receiving that top-of-the-range figure this year. It's misleading."

Also during the public comment portion of Ordinance #36,Phillips said that she is opposed to the practice of employees receiving longevity pay, which essentially is a bonus paid to those who have remained employed by the city for a certain amount of time. She said that this is an archaic practice that does little more than waste taxpayers' money, and last year cost the city nearly $400,000. The city stopped giving longevity pay to all non-union employees hired after 1994, then brought it back.

Barber, however, asserted that longevity pay serves as an incentive to keep quality employees in place for a longer period of time.

"I believe strongly in longevity," said Barber. "It rewards good, loyal people."

Ordinance #38 passed during the meeting, which increased the cost of use of the city's ambulance from $350 to $450.