Berkeley Heights residents who asked the Township Council for cost projections before expanding the police department will not get them before the Tuesday, Aug. 11, vote.

Ordinance 2026-19, which would authorize six new positions in the Berkeley Heights Police Department including a deputy chief, is scheduled for public hearing and final adoption that evening. The August agenda packet contains no fiscal impact statement showing what the additional positions would cost taxpayers in salaries, benefits, equipment or other expenses, according to NJ21st, a local independent news site that reviewed the packet.

The township had not posted the Aug. 11 agenda packet on its public agenda center as of Sunday, Aug. 9.

The missing data is the same omission former Councilwoman Jeanne Kingsley and former Mayor Bob Woodruff flagged at the July 21 first-reading vote, where the ordinance passed unanimously.

"I'm not saying it's right or wrong, guys," Kingsley told the council at that July 21 meeting, according to TAPinto. "I'm saying give us, take us there. Give us the details. Give us the support."

Kingsley, who served 12 years on the governing body, said staffing requests during her tenure were routinely backed by objective data: call volume, response times, population trends and long-term cost projections.

What the ordinance would do

The measure would create one deputy chief position, raise the maximum number of lieutenants from two to three and increase patrol officers from 17 to 21. If all positions were eventually funded, the department would grow from 28 officers to 34.

Police Chief Frank Mea told the council on July 21 that the ordinance reflects a five-year staffing plan developed after the department was reaccredited by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. He said the department's 28-officer level has remained largely unchanged for decades despite population growth and increased traffic from commuters, businesses and the Connell corporate campus.

At the July 21 meeting, officials stressed the positions would not be filled immediately. Any future hiring would require a separate budget request and a mayoral executive order.

The ordinance also expands the chief's ability to waive education requirements for applicants who meet the Police Training Commission's minimum standards for the Alternate Route Program. It retains an existing provision allowing the mayor, on the police chief's recommendation, to appoint an otherwise qualified applicant "without examination."

What changed since July 21

Almost nothing. According to NJ21st's review, the only substantive edits between the July 21 meeting and the August agenda were two corrected references that had misidentified portions of the police division ordinance as falling under Title 1 instead of Title 2.

No fiscal impact statement, staffing justification or data analysis was added.

Council composition

Three of the five council members have current or former law enforcement backgrounds, according to NJ21st: Council President John Foster, a retired officer with 28 years of experience; Councilman Bill Machado; and Councilman Andrew Moran.

What's next

The public hearing begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, at the municipal building, 29 Park Ave., Berkeley Heights. Residents may speak before the council votes on final adoption.