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Old Tappan council ratifies DPW contract, approves police‑chief agreement after discussion
Summary
At its Jan. 6 meeting the Borough of Old Tappan Mayor & Council removed two personnel items from the consent agenda, ratified a DPW collective bargaining agreement and approved a multi‑year police‑chief contract after a council discussion about automatic renewal language and budget impacts.
The Borough of Old Tappan Mayor and Council on Jan. 6 ratified a collective bargaining agreement for the Department of Public Works and approved a police‑chief employment contract following separate council discussion.
Council removed the DPW agreement from the consent agenda for brief review and said three council members had examined the draft. Council members said the agreement was professionally negotiated and fiscally responsible; the council then voted to adopt the DPW pact. "We had three council members review it ... I had a chance to review it after it was completed and I believe it was agreed upon," a council member said during the discussion.
The council also discussed a police‑chief contract that had technically expired Dec. 31, 2024. Council members explained the instrument was drafted in 2020 and includes language that allows an automatic continuation into 2026 unless the governing body acts to end it. Speakers said the agreement provides raises for the chief that mirror rank‑and‑file increases under the police contract and includes termination‑for‑cause provisions. One member summarized the effect: "It's a two‑year contract technically and we can terminate after a year as opposed to it being a one‑year contract with an option to extend." Council members asked staff and the auditor whether the projected raises were accounted for in the upcoming budget; officials said they had reviewed the figures and built them into the budget preview.
After discussion the council moved and approved the police‑chief agreement by roll call. The meeting record shows the council approved both items after the items were removed from consent. The council did not record any amendments to the agreements during the Jan. 6 session.
What happens next: the agreements take effect per their terms; the council begins formal budget hearings in the coming weeks, during which members said they will further scrutinize departmental costs tied to collective bargaining outcomes.
Votes and record: the minutes record roll‑call approvals of the DPW collective bargaining agreement and the police‑chief agreement during the Jan. 6 meeting. Individual council roll‑call entries in the transcript show affirmative votes; the official signed minutes will provide a full, name‑indexed vote record.
