Morris sheriff seeks 15% raise for jail officers

Morris County Sheriff Edward V. Rochford has negotiated a new three-year contract with 123 corrections officers at the county jail, the second time in three months that he has privately struck a labor pact without involving officials or the freeholders.

Rochford, the sheriff since 1993, on Monday provided County Administrator John Bonanni with a new contract for Policemen’s Benevolent Association 298 that would increase the amount of money to be spent on salaries for rank-and-file corrections officers by 15 percent between this year and the end of 2017.

The total amount of money to be spent on salaries would increase by 15 percent under Rochford’s plan; individual jail officers would receive varying raises depending on their place on the contract’s step guide. In 2014, the pay range was from $44,162 to $89,303; by 2017 the range would be $48,257 to 97,583 for rank-and-file officers.

County officials and the freeholders -- who expect to discuss the latest proposal at their May 13 work session -- are still reviewing the contract. Aside from a 15 percent increase in the salary pot over three years, the total contract would be increased further -- but the exact amount hasn’t been tallied -- by proposed additional personal days for corrections officers and a raise in the clothing allowance.

In March, Rochford announced to the county administrator that he had privately negotiated a contract with PBA 151, the union that represents rank-and-file officers in the sheriff’s Bureau of Law Enforcement. These officers provide the mandated service of security at the county courthouse, as well as non-mandated services that include a K-9, bomb and crime scene units.

The PBA 151 contract, which proposes a 25 percent increase in funding for salaries and benefits over three years, has been in limbo since March. The freeholders authorized an attorney to write Rochford advising that the terms were not acceptable and must be redrawn but no further progress has been made.

Relying on a state Appellate Court decision involving the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, Rochford has said he has authority as sheriff to negotiate a contract with sheriff’s officers by himself. He is considered the “sole employer” of sheriff’s officers, even though taxpayers pay their salaries through county taxes, and the budget is approved by the freeholders. However, in the case of corrections officers at the jail, the sheriff and county are considered co-employers.

Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Susan Hunter said the salaries for officers within the Bureaus of Law Enforcement and Corrections are within the salary ranges “already set forth by the governing body for county law enforcement employees.” She said the top pay at the end of contracts for officers in both bureaus would still be below salaries earned by investigators in the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

“The sheriff has upheld his constitutional duty to effectively run and safeguard the agency to ensure the safety of the persons and property of the courthouse and jail as well as continue to be the provider of the shared services which allows the 39 municipalities to save tremendously, and he has done it in a fiscally conservative manner as always,” Hunter said.

County Manager of Labor Relations Allison Stapleton said she currently is analyzing PBA 298 contract, which was signed in April by Rochford and PBA 298 President Leon Pollison and attested to by Hunter. Stapleton said traditionally, the sheriff has always negotiated with county officials and labor counsel on contracts but has gone it alone in the past months.

Freeholder Douglas Cabana, the board’s liaison to the sheriff and public safety, said Wednesday that he still is reviewing the numbers and believes the sheriff was trying to make the contracts for PBA 151 and PBA 298 roughly comparable.

“I fully understand where PBA 298 is coming from but like everything else, it has to be a balance with the county budget. Whether we can do it, that’s the question, and until the freeholder board meets I’m not sure what will be done,” Cabana said.

Both Cabana and Freeholder David Scapicchio said Rochford should have negotiated with the county on the jail contract, since the sheriff and county are co-employers of the corrections officers.

While the PBA 298 proposed pact was just delivered this week to freeholders, the board in March let Rochford know that the PBA 151 contract he negotiated exceeds a state-mandated 2 percent cap on spending increases for government.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com