Layoffs Avoided – Agreement Reached Between Township Officials And Employees

ems deal signed by twp and unionJUST IN: Lakewood Township officials announced that they have now reached an amicable agreement with all six of the bargaining unions that represent the majority of the Township employees. Deputy Mayor Steven Langert expressed the sentiments of the Township Committee by saying, “We thank the employees for working together with the Township to cut costs.”

At issue was the change in health insurance plans.  The Township currently provides six different health care plans through its carrier Central Jersey Health Insurance Fund. Changing to only one, uniform health care benefit package will result in a significant savings of an estimated $700,000 to $800,000 for the Township and ultimately the taxpayers.

Deputy Mayor Langert says, “I realize that Township employees are concerned about the health care coverage for themselves and their families. Overall, this health care plan is comparable to what they have now.” The savings will be realized from a combination of the consolidation of the health care plan and the change in benefits.

Township Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein, said, “Although some of the employees have  time left on their contract and did not have to make any changes to it right now,  they agreed to work closely with us to help improve this situation because they realize the taxpayers are carrying a huge financial burden.” TLS.

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25 COMMENTS

  1. Finally Steve accomplished something. It’s long over due. Good job meir! And mayor menashe! Keep our taxes down and bring them even lower

  2. We’ll never know the real facts but its possible that many plan options were just not available any longer.
    Imagine how amazing our township employees are they finally agreed to change coverages to save us ” TAXPAYERS” some money .
    These changes should have been implemented years ago !!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. Why is it that difficult to understand that if Langert has been negotiating with them for the last several months ,then it only made sense to let him finish the job . It is a sign of greatness that Mayor Miller did not look for the photo op to take credit for what his predecessor did . Not too many politicians would be humble enough to do that . A breath of fresh air

  4. I thought that the cuts in the inspection dept. were to get rid of some incompetent inspectors and to save tax money. Why not go through with the cuts? While most of the inspectors are professionals doing their job, there are a minority that are a menace to our citizens! Get rid of them and save money at the same time. A win win situation!

  5. From the post that I see here it appears some will never be happy with anything !
    As far as inspectors for the township we need more from what I see going on in this town and we need the town to enforce what few rules we have

  6. To #8. It seems that you don’t care what the inspectors do. They can hit, curse or otherwise abuse people and you are happy because of what you perceive is going on in town. Why not move to a communist country?
    They enforce their rules. You should be happy! Or could be you don’t care about civil rights and don’t pay any taxes?

  7. Maybe they should hire some cops… the PD is down 22-25 cops give or take in the last 8 years. This town is a disaster. Hire more cops so the men and women who keep us safe can also keep themselves safe.

  8. I agree with #7. Thank g-d I don’t interact with the Lakewood inspection dept. But why do I see a certain lakewood inspector sitting around in the Pizza shop for hours on end several times a week? I guess there are too many inspectors and not enough work!

  9. I see I hit a nerve , does the truth hurt ?
    There is a reason why towns have inspectors to keep building safe and within the guidlines that are set forth to protect those who live in them . Why would you have a problem with that ?
    My post was not at all negative just my oppinion that a blind person could easily see.

  10. we don’t need more “single” family homes with two,three or more families crammed into them or rented “rooms” to anyone who has cash in hand that does not get reported .

  11. guess you can’t post links here that have some valuable information to back up my concern with how this town handles the issues with housing ,thats to bad as it is a real eye opener . The letter was written by someone that lives here in Lakewood and is her first hand account of what she went through with housing of “neighbors” who constantly harrased her with loud music , trash all over, threats and even physical violence . For those who choose to ignore what has taken place here by saying my coments are negative , you just don’t want to admit to the fact that there are some real problems that exist in this town that are caused in my oppinion by the lack of policies of those who run this town,along with ignoring the ordinances that do exist . So sad as this was at one time not a bad place to live ,The perception of just about everyone I know is this town is not someplace very desirable to live. In all honesty I have been here a very long time and it most cases we (Lakewood) deserves the reputation that it has . I would hope we can get some leadership who care about all the people that live here and clean this town up of the crime, gangs and other undesirable elements that permeate within the borders of Lakewood

  12. Wouldn’t the taxpayers and town save more money if our politicians and commitee men took acut on their health benefits let them lead by example

  13. cut the overall school budget by 10% and use part of the savings to hire more policemen. We all know Lakewood is in dire need of more cops. It’s long overdue

  14. Quote “cut the overall school budget by 10% and use part of the savings to hire more policemen. We all know Lakewood is in dire need of more cops. It’s long overdue”
    Thats not a solution to cut education , unless it comes out of non essential ares that would not affect the public school children

  15. There is no nerve for you to hit. I noticed when the outpouring off support for the LPD happened over the past week or so you were nowhere to be seen.

    You only popup from your cellar when you want to criticize the “Community”.

    Go post with your friends on the APP, those readers might care what you think.

  16. To My Voice says
    you have no Clue at all, first of all my computer was down, and out of respect for the slain officer I would not post anything anyway. You would be shocked if you new how involved I was with the day of this officers funeral . (no I will not post it I’m not looking for any cuddos )
    When I do anything that is worth doing its not for the purpose of getting myself noticed but for the benifit of being helpful to those who well deserve help. I have often done things for others at no expense just out of the need to be helpful in a time of need ,thats much more than many others can say
    Let me make something clear my point about those who work for this town (inspectors & others) it seems like there are very many negative comments by others who post here about DPW ,Inspectors and even the LPD who are just doing their jobs and are often ridicled for that .
    I really do not understand why you even felt my comment was negative, do you really think there are no problems in this town with housing issues, in my oppinion there are .Your comment in away is a reaction to how I see things , I did not make a derogitory statement about anyone unlike some others who post here.
    Thats all I have to say on this issue

  17. why is my comment #22 still waiting for moderation ? nothing slanderous or off color ,out of line . Just a reply to someone who has an issue with how I see things here in Lakewood

  18. How about the township committee giving up their medical benefits? That would save a bundle. Under Christies new laws, part timers and elected officials are not entitled. They have their own businesses they can get insurance through. If they are so concerned about saving money, why didnt they offer to give theirs up?

Comments are closed.