By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY — Montgomery Township police officers are in line for a modest salary increase, under the terms of a four-year contract approved by Township Committee last week.
The contract, which grants a 1.8-percent salary hike to all police officers in 2016, runs from Jan. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2019. It covers approximately 26 police officers, from patrol officers to sergeants and plainclothes detectives.
Township Administrator Donato Nieman described the process as a “good, constructive negotiation” at Township Committee’s April 7 meeting.
The new contract sets the salary for a first-year police officer at $42,000 for each of the four years of the contract. A first-year police officer will earn $42,000 in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
A police officer who is in the second year of his career will earn $48,000, and a third-year police officer will be paid $55,000. By the 10th year of service, a police officer will be paid $100,000. Those salaries will remain the same for each of the four years of the contract.
The new contract includes an 11th “step,” which does grant a 1.8-percent salary increase each year to officers who attain 11 years of service.
Police officers who attain 11 years of service will receive a 1.8-percent salary increase each year. This means that an officer who reaches 11 years of service in 2016 will be paid $106,500. In 2017, the salary is $108,500. In 2018, the salary is $110,500, and in 2019 it is $112,500.
A similar set-up applies to police sergeants. A first-year sergeant will earn $108,500 this year, and $110,500 in 2017. For 2018, the salary for a first-year sergeant is $112,500, rising to $114,500 in 2019.
Second-year sergeants will be paid $118,500 this year, and $121,000 in 2017. The salary has been set at $123,000 in 2018, and $125,000 for 2019.
