Mayor Joann Gattinelli shares background on the salary ordinance petition, while inviting residents to the upcoming National Night Out event
Salary ordinance
Typically, I do not respond to rumors, insinuations and innuendo, but there is misinformation being communicated on social media and in other places regarding the 2017 Washington Township salary ordinance, which needs to be addressed. By state statute and Washington Township code, each year the township council is required to adopt a salary ordinance for department heads and other administrative personnel as soon as possible after reorganization in January. The salary ordinance that was adopted by township council this year was in the form of salary ranges having both a minimum and maximum salary. No actual salary for department heads and other administrative personnel is set as a result of the adoption of this or any other salary ordinance.
Following adoption of the Washington Township 2017 salary ordinance, residents submitted petitions signed by registered voters to freeze the salary ordinance. After a painstaking and long process in which the township clerk was required to review hundreds of signatures to determine their authenticity as well as their compliance with state law, the township clerk determined that the petition did not have the requisite number of voters (5 percent), to meet state law requirements and therefore rejected the petition. That decision was made by the clerk and the clerk only, and is not a decision by either township council or myself. The clerk’s decision is solely based on findings of the due diligence process required by state law. Based on these findings, he was unable to honor the petition.
Township council adopted the 2017 budget earlier this year with no municipal tax increase whatsoever. Also, no newly hired department head or administrative official who has not previously worked for the township will be getting a raise. It was never my intent, nor am I increasing the salary for any newly appointed department head or administrative employee in the salary ordinance. In fact, the combined salary increases for existing department heads and other administrative officials’ amounts to less than $20,000 in total. This represents less than one-10th of 1 percent of the entire municipal budget for 2017, as I was advised by Chief Financial Officer Jim D’Auria. My administration will continue to be transparent and provide information to residents so that they can make informed decisions and not rely upon misinformation.
National Night Out
Yet another fantastic event in Washington Township, National Night Out, is coming up on Tuesday, August 1, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. A rain date is scheduled for August 2. This will be held at the Washington Lake Park amphitheater where there will be a free barbeque, fun activities and more. This effort is being led by the Washington Township Police Department in an effort to strengthen the relationship between the residents of Washington Township and law enforcement. This allows residents to get to know some of our officers on a personal level, much like the “Fishing with a Cop” initiative.
I would like to thank the National Association of Town Watch for sponsoring this crime and drug prevention event. Last years’ National Night Out took place across 15,000 communities from all 50 states, along with some Canadian cities and military bases worldwide, in which over 36 million people participated. We are happy to host National Night Out in Washington Township to promote community spirit and police-community partnership in an effort to make our community and nation a safer place to live. I am looking forward to yet another community building event that allows residents to experience the services Washington Township has to offer.
Joann Gattinelli is the mayor of Washington Township. She can be reached at mayorgattinelli@twp.washington.nj.us.
