The four employees were laid off after the borough contracted with Salem County for police dispatching services.
PENNS GROVE -- Borough officials want to move ahead with a plan to give their former police dispatchers $6,000 each in severance payments.
Mayor John Washington said Friday action could come as early as council's next meeting this week.
Council last month unanimously introduced an ordinance to give Regina Vasquez, Tamika Richmond, Amy Gibson and Michelle Alexander the payments.
But when the measure came up for final adoption on Sept. 20, it failed to garner the support need to bring it to a vote and died.
Washington says the move stalled because of a public contention that any severance payments should be prorated for the former dispatchers based on their years of service.
"We're not interested in prorating," the mayor said Friday.
On Aug. 15, Penns Grove became the last town with a municipal police force to contract with Salem County for dispatching services.
None of the four borough dispatchers were offered jobs with the county 911 center despite applying, Washington claimed.
Salem County officials confirmed none of the four had been hired.
Washington said Penns Grove officials felt the dispatchers should get something since they were left without jobs. According to the severance-payment ordinance, the dispatchers were laid off by the borough on Aug. 23.
Borough Solicitor Adam Telsey said officials believed the four dispatchers have "worked hard and have been valuable employees."
Penns Grove joins county dispatch system
For their "years of service and dedication they (council) felt as they wanted to give them something," Telsey said.
Penns Grove got a push to join the county police dispatching system from the state Department of Community Affairs which had for years given the borough extra state aid as a way to keep the municipal tax rate down
Last year the DCA awarded the borough $280,000 in transitional aid (extra state aid on top of what New Jersey gives the borough annually). Attached to that payment was the condition that Penns Grove stop providing its own police dispatching services and join the county system as a cost-saving measure. The borough received no transitional aid this year.
Washington said money for the severance payments, which would total $24,000 for all four dispatchers, had already been set aside in a special fund.
A DCA spokesperson said Friday that the state had no objections to the granting of the severance payments.
Borough council meets again Tuesday night.
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.