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ABSECON - City officials have approved a contract for the city police chief that reflects limits spurred by the abrupt retirement of his predecessor.

The agreement allots a $112,200 salary, which includes a 10 percent longevity bonus, to Police Chief Joseph Cowan for 2009.

Cowan was unavailable for comment Friday.

His pay will increase by slightly less than 5 percent in 2010, more than 9 percent in 2011 and 4 percent in 2012, topping out at $134,200.

Nothing in particular sparked the bigger increase in 2011, according to City Administrator Terry Dolan.

"Purely a matter of negotiations, that's all it was," Dolan said.

There are, however, reasons behind new stipulations that dictate how much notice Cowan must give council before his retirement, as well as how many and at what rate he can cash in unused sick, vacation and personal days at that time.

Council negotiated a new contract for Cowan's predecessor Charles Smith without knowing of Smith's pending retirement until immediately after the deal's approval June 5, 2008. Smith retired at the end of that June. Some members said that might have changed their vote; others said it might not have.

The new contract called for four years' worth of retroactive pay increases that amounted to an 18.9 percent boost in his salary and pension.

The city also paid him $281,874 for unused sick, vacation and personal time.

Cowan's contract requires him to alert the mayor and council members 90 days before he retires. Smith only had to notify the mayor six weeks beforehand.

"There was unanimity between the mayor and council wanting that provision," council President Lynn Caterson said.

They also hoped that the contract would include limits on payments for sick, personal and vacation time. Cowan agreed, Caterson said.

The agreement limits reimbursable vacation time to that accumulated before he started serving as chief. Mayor Pete Elco swore Cowan into office Aug. 7, 2008.

The city was unable to provide Friday the amount of unused time Cowan has accumulated during his 24 years on the Absecon force.

Cowan's contract gives him a Dodge Durango for "limited personal uses" such as commuting and an $1,800 annual bonus for his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Kaplan University in Davenport, Iowa, an accredited, primarily Web-based institution. Cowan is working toward his master's degree in criminal justice from Boston University and will get a $2,500 bonus once he has completed that program.

E-mail Emily Previti:

EPreviti@pressofac.com

How Absecon compares

Sources: Contract between Absecon and Police Chief Joseph Cowan; The New Jersey League of Municipalities; U.S. Census

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