Council Approves Ordinance Amending Police Salary Ranges

The Manchester Township Council on Monday passed an ordinance that will implement the job-saving salary changes agreed to in January between township officials and the local police union.

Last December, budget cuts threatened officer layoffs at the Manchester Police Department. The township and PBA Local 246 renegotiated the contract, saving jobs and nearly $1 million.

The ordinance approved on April 25 implements those changes, including a reworked pay scale and elimination of longevity raises based on years of continuous service.

"We stretched out the number of years it will take to get to those grades," said Elena Zsoldos, township business administrator. "If we stayed on [the previous] rate scale, it would have cost just shy of $1 million."

The old pay ordinance, approved by the council in 2008, had 14 steps for officers. The new pay scale adds six steps and lowers some of the salary ranges.

For example, those in the police academy, the lowest step, had a salary range of $36,328 to $44,092 under the old scale; an officer starting out in police academy will now earn a salary ranging from $30,003 to $31,840 under the new plan.

Zsoldos also said that longevity, which varied depending on hiring date and years of service but went as high as 10 percent for officers who worked at least 24 continuous years, has been eliminated and is rolled into the base pay. It will no longer be progressively applied each year, she said.

This means that some higher-ranking officers will see an increased yearly salary range under the new plan as longevity is no longer added annually.

For example, the pay range for a captain, the highest-ranking position under chief of police, was $121,180 to $147,080; the new ordinance has a captain earning $157,960 to $163,848. 

Council President Craig Wallis said that, while officers will not receive pay cuts, raises will be earned under a different structure.

"It's not salary decreases, but rescaling and restructuring and changing longevity," he said. "Basically, it comes out to a savings of $900,000 over the three year extension of the contract." 

Chief of Police Brian Klimakowski said that he understands the increased number of steps will impact the pay his officers receive.

"There are guys who are getting no raises. Some guys took a bigger hit than others," he said. "Some aren't as happy as others. But that's what had to be done."

The department currently has a force of 63, including one captain, two lieutenants, 12 sergeants, six detectives and 42 officers, according to a department officer list from March.

Now that the council has approved the ordinance, it will take effect in 20 days, according to the document.