By Barbara A. Preston | October 29, 2025
A Montgomery police officer at work. The Montgomery PBA Local 355 union members had attended township committee meetings this past year, advocating for a pay increase.
The Montgomery Township Committee held a special meeting on Monday, October 27 at 3 pm to ratify a four-year agreement with the Police Benevolent Association (PBA). The PBA and the township officials had been at an impasse during negotiations that began in September 2024. The PBA contract expired in January.
Police had asked for a 4.5% salary increase in order to retain talented officers in Montgomery boost recruiting efforts.The township had offered 3.5%, arguing that residents already pay the highest property taxes in Somerset County.
Under the new ratified agreement, the overall cost impact through the life of the contract equates to annual increases of approximately 3.75%. The contract is retroactive to January 1, 2025 and runs through December 31, 2028.
From left: Committeemember Dennis Ahn, Montgomery Township Attorney Wendy Rubinstein, Mayor Neena Singh, and Deputy Mayor Vince Barragan at the special township committee meeting on Monday. (Committeemember Pat Todd was also at the meeting, but not in this photo.)
Photo by Barbara A. Preston
Police Chief Silvio Bet told The Montgomery News:
"This contract represents a meaningful investment in our officers and the future of our department, and confirmation of a shared commitment to building a police department deeply rooted in quality officers delivering exceptional service to our community.
"Competitive compensation and supportive leadership are key to recruiting top quality candidates and retaining the experienced professionals who keep our community safe. I extend my sincere gratitude to the township committee for seeing the value of our officers. Let us continue to uphold this commitment and standard and move forward with the same spirit, teamwork, and excellence in making Montgomery Township Police Department a destination police department”.
Mayor Neena Singh and Deputy Mayor Vince Barragan, co-chairs of the Township Committee Budget and Finance Committee, issued a joint statement immediately following the meeting.
“This is a fair settlement that acknowledges the importance of our police officers while demonstrating the town’s commitment to being fiscally prudent.
“We appreciate the partnership with the PBA as the parties diligently worked to come to an amicable resolution that is sustainable in the long run.”
The township committee had issued a statement earlier this year, in June, reporting that the PBA had rejected the township’s previous offer of a 3.5% annual salary increase.
Committee members said that proposed 3.5% increase would have allowed the police department to “maintain the relative ranking of Montgomery police salaries in the top third when compared to comparative communities.”
Township Committee's earlier statement said the PBA was seeking a 4.5% annual across-the-board salary increase with increased holiday pay and the elimination of the dual salary schedule (previously agreed to by the PBA in their last contract), thus moving all officers to a higher pay scale.
The mayor and township committee pushed back on the 4.5% ask, saying that are committed to public safety, but that they also must be mindful, in their fiduciary capacity, of the broader financial pressures facing residents.
Township Committee added: Montgomery taxpayers already pay the highest property taxes in Somerset County and continue to face rising school and municipal expenses, compounded by inflation and what many believe to be an economic downturn.
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Montgomery police officers and a GOP candidate had questioned Township Committee members this past year about a lack of support for the police.
Montgomery PBA president Sal Intili, along with half of the union, had also attended a Township Committee meeting in May in which they voiced their concerns “over the lack of support from the committee members throughout [their] contract negotiations.”
“Montgomery Township officials have failed to show any interest in providing your local officers with a fair contract,” Intili said. “The department is losing talented officers to neighboring police departments that pay better. He also expressed disappointment that he and his colleagues had been working without a contract for six months.”
“We’ve had officers transferred to departments with similar demographics to ours — except those departments pay a competitive wage,” he said, citing Bernards Township, South Brunswick, and Edison to name a few. “We also have had officers apply to Hillsborough and Bridgewater from 2020 to 2024.”
“Bound Brook and Manville have top salaries that are $15,000 to $30,000 higher than ours,” Intili said. “I foresee more of our officers applying elsewhere if this contract is to fall short on where it needs to be.”
While the 3.75% raise is not the 4.5% raise they were asking for, it is higher than the 3.5% raise the township had originally offered.
Hopefully it will be enough for Montgomery to keep its fine officers.
“We thank our police department for their hard work in keeping our community safe and delivering exceptional service to all our residents,” Township Committee said in a prepared statement. ■
