Mayor and Council Reach Agreement With DPW on Comp Time

The Mayor and Council have reversed their decision refusing to grant the DPW compensatory time for four days worked Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy when Borough Hall was closed. During those four days, all non-essential personnel were instructed to stay home while the DPW was required to work, clearing streets of trees and debris. Instead, the Mayor and Council agreed to meet the DPW halfway by granting them two comp days, instead of the requested four.

According to the DPW union representatives who attended the work session portion of Monday's Mayor and Council meeting, while the town-wide power outage closed Borough Hall for four days, all non-essential employees were paid for those days not worked. Arguing that they felt "blind-sided" by the Mayor and Council's initial decision to not grant the comp time, they informed the governing body that "it has been past practice for 14 years" that anytime Borough Hall is closed, they get compensatory time.

The Mayor and Council said that they were unaware that this was past practice, and there is no written policy regarding it. However, they agreed to give the DPW two comp days stipulating that going forward there will be a written policy that states there will be no comp time if Borough Hall is closed. The union representatives for the DPW agreed to the two days of compensatory time and the stipulation.