Salaries for Gloucester Full-Time Employees Range from $50,000 to $200,000; Council's Health Benefits Stopped
Sunday, October 24, 2021
William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews
GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (CNBNews)(October 24, 2021)-This year's salary ordinance adopted in January 1, 2021 by Mayor and Council and changed in May reveals that salaries ranges from a high of $200,000 for the position of police chief/city administrator to a low of $50,000 for the job of confidential aid to the mayor.
Gloucester City taxpayers employ 109 full-time employees, 77 part-time employees and pay the health benefits for 75 retirees which cost almost $2 million. This years total budget is $25,457,774. Of that amount $13,117,045 is for salaries, or in another words more than half of the total budget goes to personnel costs.
There are 9 full-time department heads/managers, and 2 part-time; total costs for those individuals $1,379,640, or an approximate average cost of $153,293 a person.
All the figure quoted includes base pay, overtime and other compensation, pension (estimate), health benefits, (net of cost share) and employment taxes and other benefits.
A breakdown by department reveals the police's personnel costs for 30 employees, which is the highest cost for personnel is $4,189,595, or an approximate average of $140,000 for each.
The fire department's personnel costs for 23 employees is $3,003,980, or an approximate average of $131,000 for each.
For the other 42 Union employees the cost is $3,509,991 or an approximate average of $84,000 for each.
As for the 5 non-union employees and the 66 part-time employees the cost is $980,371 or about $13,808 for each. Note: part-time employees those who work 25 or less hours do not receive health benefits or any other perks.
MAYOR,COUNCIL MEMBERS NO LONGER RECEIVE HEALTH BENEFITS!
An interesting side note, we learned that the 7 part-time members of the governing body, mayor and council, stopped getting health benefits in 2019, according to Municipal Clerk Vanessa Parent. "I
personally spoke to James Davis, Tax Collector and acting CFO, and Mayor Keating. They stated the last year anyone received money for health benefits was 2019. In 2020 they stated no one was paid out for health benefits."
RELATED:
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Again I Say, Health Benefits for City Council Should Be Eliminated
You would have thought someone in the local government would have told the public about that perk being done away with. For decades those part-time elected officials on city council gladly accepted either full health benefits for themselves and family and or a reimbursement payment if they didn't accept the benefits because of one reason or another. Most residents were unaware that the part-time council members were receiving this payment until CNBNews published the news in 2007.
Also, according to the municipal clerk, the numbers in the friendly budget pertaining to the personnel costs for mayor and council are wrong. The line item figures shown below, state personnel cost for the governing body is $53,468; base pay $8500; overtime and other compensation $28,452; health benefits net of cost share $13,258; employees taxes and other benefits $3,258. CNBNews discovered the information while writing this article. Parent said, Mr. Davis, our Tax Collector and acting CFO, said "The number listed for council as healthcare and other employee expenses appears to be from a prior year which is what we are investigating. No one on council gets healthcare benefits. There is one person who pays COBRA and it shows on the bill but is not paid by the city."
GLOUCESTER CITY PROPERTY TAXES, ONE OF THE HIGHEST IN NJ
Although Gloucester City property taxes are one of the highest in the State, the people living in Gloucester City are considered by the state and the federal government as some of the poorest in NJ and the country.
Despite this fact the City of Gloucester City among the 30 communities in the state with the highest property taxes, which means there are 535 towns paying less in taxes than residents living in this city. Sadly residents in this city are so poor the community qualifies to be an Urban Enterprise Zone, (UEZ) one of only 32 in the state. Poverty in this City is so bad among residents it qualifies to be an ABBOTT District, only 30 other school districts in the state have that unwanted distinction.
The friendly budget is usually released in March or April.
RELATED: OPINION: The Pension System for Police, Fire Departments and County Sheriffs Needs to be Fixed
Other salaries that stand out include:
Chief Financial Officer $85,000 to $104,000;
City clerk $68,000 to $84,000;
City treasurer $60,000 to $85,000;
Head of Community Development $55,000 to $69,000;
Director of Utilities $79,000 to $104,000;
Superintendent of public works, $71,000 to $95,000;
City housing inspector $58,000 to $81,000;
Code Enforcement Officer $32,000 to $53,000
Chief of Fire $89,000 to $125,000
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