This is a story that started over one year ago and was reported in this blog. Wherein I wrote that the "handouts" would be coming and the first one is about to hit! The six (6) employees of the CTMA and CTJPW (water and sewer for Trappe and Collegeville) are about to get what they patiently have waited for - a big fat present for a retroactive Christmas.
I will be brief here as we do not have a copy of the actual contract (it was voted on and passed by the CTMA and CTJPW bodies but they have refused to release it and are violating the Right To Know Law in Pennsylvania) but we are told by those who know that the contract they are getting will show the ratepayers of Trappe and Collegeville as to why their water and sewer bills have increased so astronomically. Here is a taste:
Salary increases for the next four (4) years of 5% on the average. Salary increases in that time period are going to raise the average employees salary from $57,000.00 to close to over $70,000.00. That includes an hours paid lunch each day. The employees will make NO contribution to the Cadillac of health plans they already have. These fringe benefits are costing the ratepayers over $30,000.00 per year per employee. These fringe benefits include a no co-pay health plan (no HMO for these folks), full dental, eyes, a healthy pension, and long and short term disability.
All of these handouts at a time that most government bodies are tightening their belts … we will have more on this and who is responsible in the near future. You are going to be VERY surprised who one of the parties is. Here is a hint - they have been doing this to the ratepayers of Trappe and Collegeville since the 1930’s and they are a multi-million dollar institution!