What do they make? Morristown council approves salary ordinance

Councilwoman Alison Deeb cast the sole vote against creating a public safety department. To her right are Council members Michael Elms and Bob Iannaccone, June 26, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Councilwoman Alison Deeb cast the sole vote against creating a public safety department. To her right are Council members Michael Elms and Bob Iannaccone, June 26, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Morristown council members approved 1.75 percent raises for themselves and Mayor Tim Dougherty on Tuesday.

That comes to $26,498 a year for the Mayor and $9,845 for council members, plus an extra $1,000 for Council President Toshiba Foster.  It’s their first increase in at least eight years, according to Dougherty.

The council also approved annual salary ranges for town managers and non-union workers.

One interesting tidbit: Police Chief Pete Demnitz potentially could earn more than his future supervisor, the to-be-named public safety director.

A maximum of $150,000 is authorized for that individual; the police chief can earn up to $161,000, according to the salary ordinance.

Creation of the public safety department and director was authorized by a 5-1 margin. Councilwoman Alison Deeb voted no, and Foster was absent. The public safety director will oversee police, fire and emergency management operations.

Demnitz will retain control over police personnel decisions. Going forward, he must report monthly to town Administrator Jillian Barrick.  There is no similar requirement for Fire Chief Robert Flanagan.

Police Chief Pete Demnitz is sworn in for civil trial, as Superior Court Judge Louis Sceusi watches, May 21, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Police Chief Pete Demnitz is sworn in for civil trial, as Superior Court Judge Louis Sceusi watches, May 21, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The town got slapped with $1.7 million in damages last month after a jury ruled Demnitz retaliated against a whistle-blowing detective by demoting him.

Town officials have denied any connection between the trial and the move to hire a public safety director.

If that director hails from the police world, then an assistant public safety director must come from the firefighting community, and vice versa, according to the salary ordinance.

Here are the income ranges:

morristown nonunion salary ranges 2018  1 of 4 salary ranges 2018 2 of 4morristown salary ranges 2018 3 of 4morristown salary ordinance 2018 4 of 4

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Matt (with no last name),
    You seem to be a bit short sighted. There may be 20k residents in Morristown, but because it’s the county seat, the home to a major medical center, and a commercial center, many people move through the town every day.

    I’m sure you’re ok with all of these things keeping your taxes in line. Maybe you should consider other options; most of us are satisfied.

  2. First thought is that Morristown, a town of less than 20,000 residents, has a large workforce supporting a “few” people. Is there any thought of reducing the size of the government bureaucracy? That being said, Morristown is getting to be a overpopulated with commercialism and the local government seems to be doing their best to control the crowded, noisy streets with speeding semi trucks and cars.

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