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The City also held back on negotiating a new contract with the twosome leaving them at the 2005 salary pay scale; Crothers annual pay then being $101,000 and Kaye $97,000. 

Crothers and Kaye circled the wagons and refused to budge on their demand for the longevity pay. Mayor James and City Council held to their position and so the standoff begun which lasted for three plus years.

Sometime around May or June a breakthrough was reached. Although no formal announcement was made by any City official you knew something was up in July when council passed an ordinance increasing the salaries of Police Chief Crothers to $120,292 and the salary of Deputy Chief to $115,528.

According to the settlement agreement that I found in my mailbox, the Chiefs not only received the pay increase but also were given the back pay that included longevity. It was the longevity that was the sticking point from the very beginning.

The retroactive pay worksheet included in the settlement shows that from July 1, 2005, to August 31, 2009, Crothers gross pay was $411,308. As a result of the two sides coming to terms, his salary increased with longevity payments of 3.9 percent for 2006, 3.5 percent for 2007 and 3.5 percent for 2008 to $463,580. The difference of $52,272 was paid to him on August 31.

As for Kaye his gross pay from July 1, 2005, to August 31, 2009, was $395,048. The agreement reached with the same percentage longevity payments as Crothers increased his gross to $445,221. The difference being $50,173 paid to him on August 31. 

But wait there is more. As part of the settlement agreement the twosome agreed to drop their lawsuit against the City of Gloucester City (us taxpayers) in exchange for a payment of $47,728 to Plaintiff Crothers and $49,827 to Plaintiff Kaye.

Also, the arrangement called for both Plaintiffs’ to be able to utilize any unused sick or vacation time accrued for June, July and August of 2009 prior to Plaintiffs’ last day of employment, August 31.

Plus it was agreed that the City of Gloucester City (us taxpayers) will provide a health benefit plan equal to or better than the current coverage to both Plaintiffs and their dependents for the rest of their lives at no cost to either man.

The Plaintiffs, former Chief and former Deputy Chief and their respective dependents, shall be provided with dental, optical and prescription coverage equal to or better that the current coverage with a City selective carrier. This coverage will remain in effect upon retirement and during the course of their respective retirement.

During this entire period of discord the moral of the rank and file sunk to an all time low. The union members filed a number of grievances against the Chiefs, who they felt were harassing them. The union was successful in defending the members and won the majority of those grievances. 

Incidentally, the membership has been working without a contract since December 2008. Presently the matter is in arbitration, a procedure that is costing both the union and the city $20,000 each.

Not only did Crothers and Kaye cause pandemonium in the department their actions against one particular officer have left the City with a possibility of having to pay a multi-million lawsuit. That case was filed by Patrolman John Driscoll. 

Driscoll alleges that his First and Fourteenth amendments were violated by Crothers and Kaye. He filed a lawsuit in United States District Court, Camden NJ on February 24, 2009. Driscoll is the former president of PBA Local #40 the union that represents the rank and file. 

Named in Driscoll’s lawsuit besides Crothers and Kaye were the City of Gloucester City and former councilwoman Jean Kaye, Michael Kaye’s wife.

In 2006, according to court documents, Driscoll told former Deputy Chief James that he would make a good candidate for town council. On or about August of 2006, Driscoll received a telephone call from Defendant, Councilwoman, Jean Kaye, who threatened him for supporting opposing council candidates. She threatened to put him on night work.

Chris Gray, of the Alterman Law Firm, (Cherry Hill NJ) who represents Driscoll, said in a March interview that from that point on (August 2006) Driscoll was harassed by his superiors, specifically Chief Crothers and Deputy Chief Kaye. 

“For example as part of their harassment he (Driscoll) was removed from the DARE program, a course he enjoyed teaching to City school children. The defendants’ violated the department drug testing policy by subjecting my client to testing while off duty. He should have been tested upon return to duty.”

Grey continued, “May 2007 the Defendant, Chief Crothers, changed my client’s shift to 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. in place of an officer with the least amount of seniority. This was in response to being nominated for President of Local PBA Union on May 7, 2007.”

“In  December of 2007, Defendants, Deputy Chief Kaye and Chief Crothers, demanded the Union (PBA #40) to pay for their contract negotiation to get them a good retirement contract. The Union refused and explained the illegibility of representation. After Patrolman Driscoll, who was president of PBA Local #40 at the time, denied their request he received another shift change” said Grey. 

Court documents state the new shift was 7:10 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Driscoll was the only officer in the department to work this shift while others had 12 hour shift with every other weekend off. 

The lawyers for both sides had discovery last month and will appear before a federal magistrate in October. Driscoll is asking the Court to award him back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages and pay his attorney fees and costs in this action.

Click t0 read the March 2009 Was a Police Officer Punished for His Political View ”

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