Letters

BTMUA wage increments should be fair

This letter is in response to the continuing saga at the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA). As a former commissioner, hiring and retaining employees at the Housing Authority was a concern as the starting salaries are substantially low and the MUA has a revolving door of workers who came and left for better wages and working conditions. It is not unusual for a commissioner to be listed as a reference for any applicant as many of us have lived in the community for many years.

It is truly a sad day when the Executive Director, Kevin Donald, takes a stab at the heart of the hard-working entry-level employees at the Brick Housing Authority as in the May 8 article in the Asbury Park Press. What I am referring to is the salary adjustment of $1,500 given to three clerical employees. I do not believe that personnel should be discussed in public, but since Mr. Donald made reference to these three, the record should reveal that at the time of these adjustments, 20 other adjustments were made.

It is a known fact that I, as a labor leader in the community, believe that all employees should be provided with the wage increase negotiated by the authority with the unions that represent the workers. However, at the MUA, the executive director picks and chooses who he wants to award a “merit raise” in addition to the yearly increase – a practice that can lead to favoritism, which affects morale. Some of these “one time adjustments” as they are called by Mr. Donald, were given out in multiple years. In our quest to be fair, the personnel committee reviewed the salaries of workers and while we would have liked to give everyone a merit increase, we were successful in adding only a few additions to the director’s list.

With respect to the increases of the director of customer accounts, Ray Gunther, it is my understanding the authority places all its directors into the same scale. If someone starts at a lower rate, the MUA equalizes their salary over a period of time, so that a new director of a department would be paid equivalent to the director wage scale. For instance, Robert Roblenski, former director of customer accounts, was earning $42,619 Jan. 1, 1997. On Aug. 25, 1998, his salary increased to $60,000. On Jan. 1, 1999, it went to $61,818; and March 1, 1999, he was bumped up to $66,997. Jan. 1, 2000, he jumped to $69,014. He received $74,838 Jan. 1, 2001, and $80,829 Jan. 1, 2002. He was making $86,674 in 2003 when he retired. His final salary was equivalent to the director of water quality, field operation, and finance director. The increase is no different than the manner in which Mr. Gunther, as a director, is compensated.

Sue Reach

former BTMUA

Alternate Commissioner

Brick

Brick National must spend money on baseball improvements

My husband and I have two children who play baseball for Brick National. This year they have raised the cost to play an average of $60 per player. They also raised the bond for working the snack stand from $50 to $100. I understand the bond for the snack stand – they need volunteers – but the person who runs the snack stand would get more volunteers if he was more courteous to the volunteers he gets.

Next to the raise in fees... How can they raise our fees when supposedly there is over $200,000 sitting in an account somewhere. My husband has asked for bylaws at the last four meetings, and to no avail. They never have them. I would like to know where all our registration money goes? The parents pay for the cleats, pants, mitts, socks, have to work the snack stand, some of those parents coach, and if you coach a team higher then T-ball you need to umpire as well. The sponsors pay for the shirts and hats, the fields are watered with well water and the electricity is paid by the town (I believe) so where has all our registration money gone? The fields don’t even have pitchers mounds, most of them are level or below ground level. The bleachers are falling apart and loaded with garbage under them and most of them have weeds reaching the bottom of the top bleacher. The parking lots are filled with garbage and the so-called pitchers’ warm up areas need a severe weed whacking. Again I ask where is our registration money going? My husband and I are heavily involved in Pop Warner football and at every meeting there is an accounting of every penny spent. Brick National does not hand one of these out. So I ask, why isn’t some of that money spent on our children’s area of play because after all, that is why we get involved – for the children. Spend some money on redoing the fields and the walkways so our children are safe and so more parents and spectators don’t trip and fall on uneven walks. Clean up the garbage, cut down the weeds and take pride in the organization. When parents see where their hard earned money is going I bet there would be less complaining, more volunteering and a nicer environment. It is time for there to be a change in the people who run Brick National, but since no one knows or has the bylaws, it is impossible to know when and where to vote or any other rules for that matter. And after all that, they don’t even hand out trophies; the parents have to buy them as well.

Dorothy Scott

Brick Township