The Hoboken City Council approved a retroactive eight-year contract for the local Policemen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) that runs through the end of 2031 at last night’s meeting.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Hoboken PBA Local 2 President Andrew Perez spoke in favor of the contract, thanking Mayor Ravi Bhalla, Corporation Counsel Brian Aloia, and Business Administrator Jason Freeman for helping negotiate the memorandum of understanding.
“Tonight, I want to address the Hoboken police union contract that has been proposed. It is a fair, eight-year agreement that stands as a strategic advantage for both our city and our union. This contract is not just about numbers, it’s about the future and the quality of policing in Hoboken,” he said.
Perez said many towns in New Jersey are also struggling to recruit new police officers, noting that they had just nine applicants last year – a far cry from the 200 each testing cycle that they used to see.
“This decline poses a threat to public safety as we struggle to fill the ranks needed to protect our community effectively. Moreover, retention is equally critical: Many of our seasoned officers who have dedicated over 25 hears of service are leading due to inadequate salaries and high insurance costs.”
“ … By adjusting compensation, we can effectively recruit new talent even in today’s challenging landscape,” he added.
Hoboken resident Enrique Herrera urged the council to vote down the contract.
“A numbers game involving the PBA is a threat to this committee and this town. We need law enforcement officers, not citizens who unlawfully prosecute people in cluster mobs …,” he exclaimed.
Developer and resident Hany Ahmed noted that the job has changed a lot in the last decade and commended the officers who have to make life-changing decisions at a moment’s notice.
2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher said that given that the terms of the deal, which includes two to six percent raises each year, were only given to the council on Friday.
“ … I think everyone feels strongly that we want to support police, that we want to hire, be as competitive as possible, I think the problem with this is that it’s an eight-year contract: We were given the terms on Friday,” she began over the phone.
“There’s a ton of questions and not enough time to answer or investigate, we’re about to go into a budget process where understanding all of these contracts we’re expected to vote on and approve in the next couple months. We should have a full understanding, this is one of the biggest contracts … To be honest, Mayor Bhalla is leaving at the end of this year, and I don’t think he has the right to approve an 8-year contract.”
While she hasn’t done a formal rollout yet, Fisher has said she will run for mayor next year, with her colleagues Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour, 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo, and 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos already declared.
While Fisher disagreed with having a starting salary of around $46,000, mentioning that it should be closer to the $60,000 other neighboring municipalities pay, she also said it didn’t make sense to have rank and file officers getting paid more then their superiors.
Eventually, she suggested carrying the resolution.
Nonetheless, the vote was called, and it passed 6-0(2), with Fisher and 1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano abstaining to applause.
During the second public comment period, Herrera was critical of the PBA and the contract, calling the way they operate “synchronized mob activity.”
Another mayoral candidate, former U.S. Treasury official Dini Ajmani, the final public speaker of the evening, said the contract should have been scrutinized further before being approved.
“I am a big admire of Hoboken police: They have rescued me on a couple of occasions, they are professional, they are responsible, and like I said, I have great respect for them. However, I am wondering if the city missed out on an opportunity to discuss something serious in what just got negotiated, which is the retirement benefits,” she stated.
She noted that the city’s contributions to the police and fire pensions with the state went up 24 percent last year, with the municipal government contributing about $13 million annually to the pension fund at this point.
“If that number is not addressed in an environment where more officers are retiring early, retirees are living longer, and the salaries are going up faster, I think very soon the city is going to face a day when these contributions to the retirement fund will just overwhelm the city budget.”
She concluded that it was “a disappointment” that a discussion to renegotiate the retirement benefits never happened.