Franklin grants cost of living raises

FRANKLIN — The Franklin Borough Council voted 3-2 to approve a 2 percent raise for all non-contract borough employees.

The cost-of-living raise will help employees offset the newly increased percentage of health benefits and pension payments they are contributing, Borough Administrator Jim Kilduff said.

Some on the council didn’t look as favorably on the raise as others.

“I think sometimes public employees don’t understand where their salary comes from,” Councilman David Fanale said. “Some of our residents are unemployed; others haven’t seen a raise in five years or more. How can we ask them to support these employees?”

Fanale singled out borough Chief Financial Officer Monica Miebach, who was recently awarded a $5,000 stipend for becoming a Qualified Purchasing Agent (QPA) for the borough.

“That’s already a pretty substantial raise,” he said.

Kilduff noted the stipend was not technically a raise, but a stipend due to Miebach’s additional qualification and enhanced administrative role.

The raise will not affect the borough’s contract employees, including the police chief and sworn officers, Department of Public Works supervisor and DPW employees currently in a contract dispute, and the borough administrator. That leaves about 35 full- and part-time employees, including 14 crossing guards, who will get the raise.

The other dissenting vote was cast by Councilman Fred Babcock. Councilman Mark Zschack was absent.