Senior police officers get deal
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
5/29/2010

The Superior Officers Association negotiated a new three-year deal with Cherry Hill Township last week, which includes a wage freeze for 2010 and modest cost of living adjustments for 2011 and 2012. The Cherry Hill PBA and FOP – which represent the majority of township police officers – are still negotiating for new contracts.

The SOA consists of police officers with a rank of sergeant and above. The three-year deal includes a 2 percent bump in salary for 2011 and a 2.5 percent bump for 2012. Officers in the SOA will also pay 2.5 percent of their salaries into their health-care benefits. Currently, all public employees of Cherry Hill contribute to their health care premiums.

“First and foremost, I want to say that the Cherry Hill Police Department does a great job for our residents and our community.” Platt said. “This agreement makes it clear that the SOA is a strong partner in our quest to control costs in these tough times and that they are committed to meaningful concessions.”

Platt said the current fiscal crisis means all elements of the township have to agree to certain contract concessions that weren’t needed in the past.

Wage freezes and health-care contributions are the new standards for employee contracts, he said.

“In the past I’ve said that my standard for all collective bargaining units in 2010 is a pay freeze and a contribution to their health care costs,” Platt said. “This contract mirrors my past statements and takes into account the current fiscal crisis that the state and township are working in.”

Chief of Staff Dan Keashen said this current contract agreement is the type of deal Cherry Hill is looking to procure with the PBA and FOP.

There is no timetable for the contracts, Keashen said, but the sooner they are agreed upon the better. However, the township is looking for the same concessions the SOA agreed to for their contracts, Keashen said.

“If that is not available to us, we’ll have to go back to all of our options. One of those options, as painful as it sounds, is of course layoffs.

“We currently do not have the ability in this fiscal crisis to pay for the status quo,” he said.

About 50 police officers and the Presidents of the Cherry Hill FOP and PBA made their presence felt at the last Township Council meeting and spoke up about their contracts.

According to FOP President Tim Tedesco, the township is planning to terminate between 12 to 16 uniformed police officers from Cherry Hill.

Platt did not confirm the number at the time, as the township is still working to craft its budget. He did not go into details of the ongoing contract negotiations.

According to a press release written by the POA, Cherry Hill has decreased its uniformed officers by 11 since 2008, to the 135 officers currently serving the township at the present.