Zoom Special Mayor & Council Meeting Mon. Dec. 30th 2024 @ 1p.m

The Mayor and Council of the Town of Harrison, New Jersey, will hold a virtual meeting via Zoom on Monday, December 30, 2024, at 1:00 PM. The Monday at 1 pm. time slot is the Harrison Redevelopment Agency's traditional time slot for its meetings. It has been a while since Mayor Fife & the Town Council have done a Zoom meeting. Scroll down for the Zoom Link and Zoom Call-In Number.

This meeting will be one of those rare meetings that will be recorded. The Fife Administration’s policy is not to record Mayor & Council meetings. Transparency is not one of Mayor Fife’s Administration’s strong points. Residents who are available at 1 p.m. on Monday, December 30 are encouraged to log in early and use the Raise Your Hand Feature to ask questions on or off the Items on the Agenda and/or make a statement or to raise any quality-of-life issues, offer suggestions for town improvements, or voice concerns about government policies. Each person (no residency requirement is necessary) has 5 minutes to speak and the time can be extended at the discretion of the Chair of the meeting Mayor Fife.

Meeting Overview
The session will open with standard protocols including the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. The Public Session is towards the end of the meeting (meetings aren’t that long so Raise Your Hand at the beginning of the meeting).

The Agenda Items
1. Laundromat Licenses: A resolution to approve the renewal of licenses for local laundromats, namely the Lucky Laundromat LLC.
2. Ordinance No. 1524: This ordinance proposes amendments to existing laws to provide salary increases for Harrison's civil service employees. The scheduled increases are 4% in 2025 and 3% annually from 2026 to 2028.
3. Ordinance No. 1525: An amendment to update the Harrison Police Department's recruitment and hiring practices, reflecting state laws and the Civil Service Act changes. This ordinance aims to streamline the process and include provisions for appointing officers who have completed the required training but not the traditional Civil Service Examination.

Salary Analysis
The proposed salary ordinance indicates structured increases for various town employees over the next four years. Notably, civil service positions will see an initial 4% raise in 2025, with subsequent 3% raises each year until 2028. This structured increment is part of an agreement between the Town of Harrison and the Harrison Civil Service Employees Association, Harison’s rank and file Union. Management employees received raises earlier in the year. A full list of positions is included in the Agenda for the meeting.  The following are some positions taken from the full list:

1. Clerk 1 / Multi-Lingual:
o 2025 Salary: $82,112
o 2028 Salary: $89,725
This reflects a total increase of 9.3% over four years, starting with a 4% increase in 2025, followed by annual 3% increases.

2. Library Director UnClassified:
o 2025 Salary: $112,371
o 2028 Salary: $122,790
This position sees a similar pattern of increases totaling 9.3% over the contract period.

Last Opportunity To Ask Your Question in 2024
This meeting represents a critical opportunity for Harrison residents to participate in local governance, especially in discussions impacting community services and employee compensation. Your Harrison encourages all interested individuals to join the Zoom meeting, ensuring their voices are heard in shaping Harrison's future.

For those interested in attending on their computer or tablet click on Zoom Link here. Or call +1 646 931 3860 or an alternate phone number 301 715 8592 and when prompted for Webinar ID and Password enter the following Webinar ID: 845 1965 9227 Passcode: 479413 and participants are encouraged to Log in early as Harrison Mayor &Council meetings are very quick affairs and this meeting is likely to have a longer Public Session than the Business session portion.

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