sation were fueled more by the economic downturn in the
2000s than the passage of Chapter 78 and also changes for
shares of increases in contracts between new employees and
older employees.
“We had a market correction to address the economic real-
ities,” he adds. “Those days are over. The cap had nothing to
do with that.”
Legislators who argue that the 2 percent cap has been the
hero in the fiscal foray seem to be in a league of their own. The
PBA reports that from 2006 to 2011, average for salary increas-
es for all contract awards went from 3.95 percent to 2.05 per-
cent. During the same period, voluntary contract settlements
dropped to 1.87 percent. So control was in place before any
municipality was forced to put on a cap. And it will be there
after it expires.
But if the state legislature is set on extending the cap, then
Colligan offers a compromise: “Give us back the ability to
strike.”
The numbers the PBA continues to present confirm that lo-
cal governments aren’t using, and perhaps aren’t even need-
ing, the 2 percent cap. The union is also working hard to clarify
that no hidden tax increase will be affected if contract nego-
tiations are allowed to exist as they always have. This is not
a game, and those who think it is might just be out of their
league.
“The PBA’s attitude is that we are a very fair steward, not
just of our members but in the interest of the taxpayers,” Nix-
on concludes. “We don’t need an artificial cap to let us know
how to negotiate in fairness. We were told when the extension
passed that the cap would expire in 2017. It’s about time Tren-
ton lived up to its word.” d
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