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WHEREAS, The Police and Fire Interest Arbitration
Act of 1995 provided for interest arbitration to be the
final step in the collective bargaining process for Police
and Fire, and
WHEREAS,
This Act;
a) requires
the arbitrator to determine the "net economic change"
to be awarded, thereby encouraging arbitrators to select
compromises from the final positions of the employers
and unions for numerous economic issues,
b) amends criteria to be used by the arbitrators to include
two references to the State CAP Law, and
c) expands criteria concerning the impact of the arbitrators
award on the ability of the governing body to maintain
or expand existing programs or initiate new ones, and
WHEREAS,
The Binding Arbitration Process is intended to support local
government by arriving at award decisions equitable to all
involved parties, including Police and Fire, Municipal Officials,
taxpayers, and other municipal employees, and
WHEREAS,
Despite the economic constraints suggested in the guidelines
noted above, for the ten year period from January 1996 through
December 2005, arbitration awards exceeded both the CAP
Law limitation and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by 50%,
and
WHEREAS,
Excessive Binding Arbitration awards are clearly a major
factor causing the rapidly increasing municipal property
taxes throughout New Jersey, and
WHEREAS,
The high salaries now paid to Police are causing municipalities
to curtail other desired services and to give lower salary
increases to other employees to off-set Police salary increases,
and
WHEREAS,
The New Jersey State League of Municipalities has proposed
that the State Legislature amend the Interest Arbitration
Law to limit awards to the amount of the annual CAP limitation.
NOW THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Council of __________________
supports the N.J.L.M.'s position on this matter and requests
the New Jersey State Legislature to amend the Police and
Fire Interest Arbitration Act to limit binding arbitration
awards for all economic issues combined to an amount on
a department basis that does not exceed the annual CAP Law
limitation.
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that municipalities throughout the State are
requested to pass a similar resolution and to forward it
to our legislators.
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