Gindhart and other lawyers acknowledged the pay arrangements help their pensions, but said municipalities are also getting a financial break. Costs would be higher if all work was billed by the hour, they claimed. Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello defended the decision to make Gindhart a salaried employee. The SCI noted an increase in salaried arrangements as public agencies try to cut costs. But the SCI added that taxpayers all over New Jersey, not just the affected municipality, will be saddled with the future cost of paying large pensions.
Some towns resist pressure to put part-time professionals on salary.
Egg Harbor Township is one of them. Administrator Peter Miller said part-time professionals regularly request to be put on salary. Some offer to cut their rates in return for even a minimal salary that gets them into the Public Employees Retirement System. They can deal with their retirement fund the same way any private sector employee does. When Gindhart was solicitor in Egg Harbor Township in 1995, Miller said Gindhart asked to go on the payroll.