Hightstown Borough police officers are in line to receive annual salary increases of 2% – retroactive to 2019 and 2020, and forward to 2021 – under a pair of ordinances approved by the Hightstown Borough Council.
One ordinance covers the Hightstown Borough Police Department’s sergeants and the one detective, and the second ordinance covers the patrol officers. All are represented by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 140.
The police sergeants’ and the detective’s salary was set at $109,876 for 2019 and $112,974 for 2020. It will rise to $114,315 for 2021. The sergeants also will receive an additional $750, which will be pro-rated if a sergeant has worked for less than one year in that position.
A patrol officer’s salary started at $52,020 for 2019 and increased to $53,060 for 2020. For 2021, patrol officers start at $54,121. Each officer is given a performance review and if it is satisfactory, the officer moves up one step on the 10-step scale.
A patrol officer at the top of the scale would have been paid $100,989 in 2019 and $103,009 in 2020. The salary for an officer who reaches the top of the pay scale in 2021 is $105,069.
If an officer has already reached the top of the pay scale, the officer will receive a 2% salary increase.
Recruits in the police academy and probationary police officers – those who have been police officers for one year – will earn $45,000 in each year of the three-year contract. They are placed on Step 1 of the 10-step salary scale when they complete their probationary period.
Police officers who were hired before March 20, 2015, are eligible for longevity pay. Officers hired after that date are not eligible for the extra pay, which ranges from $850 to $4,400.
The sergeants and the detective are eligible for longevity pay of $850 after five years of service in that position. Patrol officers are not eligible for longevity pay until they have worked for 10 years.
The sergeants, the detective and the patrol officers receive $1,800 in longevity pay after 10 years; $2,600 after 15 years and $3,500 after 20 years. When they reach 24 years of service, they are eligible for $4,400 in longevity pay.
