Articles Township government
The Bernards Township Police Department in 2026, Explained
The department's size and 2026 budget; reaccreditation; the eight patrol officers hired and the May promotions, including a resolution that names two different officers; the $835,000 federal radio grant; school officers and crossing guards; vehicles and cameras; the lobby, the online reporting portal and the shared court; and what residents can do.
The short version
- The department has 40 full-time officers in the 2026 budget, led by Chief Timothy King and Deputy Chief Mike Sweeney. Police salaries and wages are $5,131,196.13 (+1.93%).
- In 2026 the Township Committee appointed eight patrol officers and approved six promotion resolutions. One of those resolutions, #2026-0270, names one officer in its title and another in its resolving clause.
- The township accepted an $835,000 federal grant on October 13, 2026 for a police communications upgrade. Rep. Kean’s office said it buys 89 tri-band radios.
- Seven Class III special officers serve the schools in 2026-27, and crossing guards are under a contract of up to $201,000 for the school year.
Size and budget
The 2026 User Friendly Budget lists 40 full-time police officers, superior officers included, with:
| Item | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Base pay | $4,814,235.93 |
| Overtime and other pay | $247,561.70 |
| Pension (estimate) | $1,580,295.00 |
| Health benefits, net of employee share | $702,954.28 |
| Payroll taxes | $370,822.52 |
| Total personnel cost | $7,715,869.44 |
In the 2026 budget, police salaries and wages are $5,131,196.13 (2025: $5,034,106.76) and other expenses $395,274. Police cars are budgeted at $368,305.68, the same as 2025; crossing guards at $194,933 (2025: $127,500 plus $60,000 in salaries). The Police and Fire Retirement System contribution is $1,580,295 (+7.66%). The 2026 capital budget includes $158,430 for police equipment. See the budget.
Reaccreditation. On February 10, 2026 the Committee recognized the department’s reaccreditation by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (Res. #2026-0155), presenting the resolution to Chief King and Lieutenant Alex McKnight; the association’s accreditation program director, Harry J. Delgado, spoke about the three-year process. In her January 6 address Mayor Ana Duarte McCarthy said that in 2025, for the second year in a row, Bernards was ranked by a SafeWise study as the second safest city in New Jersey and 21st in the nation.
Hiring and promotions
Patrol officers, each appointed at $55,992 a year under the PBA Local 357 contract:
| Appointed | Officer | Start date |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 27 | Christopher DeBiasse | Jan. 28 |
| Mar. 10 | Aidan McArdle | Mar. 13 |
| Mar. 24 | Michael Bruno | Mar. 25 |
| May 12 | Justin Gladden | May 13 |
| May 26 | Logan Malina | July 9 |
| July 14 | Aidan Benjamin | July 15 |
| July 28 | Nicholas Sullivan | Aug. 3 |
| Aug. 25 | Nathaniel Thomson | Nov. 4 |
Promotions approved May 12, 2026 (consent agenda, 5-0):
| Resolution | Rank | Name in the resolving clause | Effective | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2026-0273 | Lieutenant | Mark Neri | July 1 | $179,389.78 |
| #2026-0275 | Sergeant | Christopher Albanese | May 15 | $149,789.18 |
| #2026-0270 | Sergeant | Christopher Albanese | July 1 | $155,031.80 |
| #2026-0271 | Corporal | Kendall Kulik | July 1 | $147,926.30 |
| #2026-0272 | Corporal | Alec McCrea | May 15 | $142,923.97 |
| #2026-0274 | Corporal | James Moore | May 15 | $142,923.97 |
Resolution #2026-0270 as printed. Its title reads “Personnel Appointment Anthony Severino – Sergeant – Police Department,” and its WHEREAS clauses state that “Anthony Severino has applied for and is qualified” and recommend “appointment of Anthony Severino to the position of full time Sergeant.” Its resolving clause reads: “Christopher Albanese be appointed full-time Sergeant with a promotion date of July 1, 2026 at an annual salary of $155,031.80.” The agenda’s explanatory statement for the same resolution describes Corporal Anthony Severino’s application. Resolution #2026-0275, adopted the same night, promotes Christopher Albanese to sergeant effective May 15, 2026 at $149,789.18. The minutes do not record a correction.
Retirements. The Committee commended Sergeant Kevin Little on his retirement after 29 years (April 28) and Lieutenant Brian Fallon after more than 24 years (June 23). On August 25 it appointed Kevin Little to a new full-time civilian position of Police Support Technician at $40.00 an hour.
The $835,000 radio grant
- July 14, 2026: the Committee approved an application to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance’s FY 2026 Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grants program for the “Bernards Township Police Department Communications Upgrade project,” estimated at $835,000, requesting the full amount (Res. #2026-0328, consent agenda, 5-0).
- August 2026: TAPinto reported on August 6 that Rep. Tom Kean Jr. presented the $835,000 to the township, saying it would replace radios that “can only operate on one frequency” with 89 tri-band radios. Kean’s office repeated the description in an October release.
- October 13, 2026: the Committee accepted the award from the Office of Justice Programs, with a grant period of July 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, and inserted $835,000 in the 2026 budget as revenue and appropriation (Res. #2026-0420, consent agenda, 5-0).
Separate radio purchases for the fire companies, EMS and emergency management are covered under fire and EMS.
Schools and school crossings
- Class III special officers. On August 11 the Committee appointed seven Special Law Enforcement Officers III for the 2026-27 school year, part-time at $43.71 an hour effective August 1, with hours set with the Board of Education or Saint James School (Res. #2026-0366). It approved memoranda of agreement with the Bernards Township Board of Education on a school resource officer and Class III officers in each district school (Res. #2026-0373) and with Saint James School on a Class III officer (Res. #2026-0374). All passed 5-0 on the consent agenda.
- Crossing guards. The township contracts with Crossing Guard Services LLC of Stamford, Connecticut: up to $117,000 for January–June 2026 (May 26; Res. #2026-0285) and up to $201,000 for September 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 (August 11; Res. #2026-0369), billed at $32.17 an hour for 30 posts and $36.28 for 4 posts. Chief King, the Administrator and the Purchasing Agent recommended both awards.
Vehicles, cameras and other equipment
- Cameras: in-car and body-worn camera systems from Motorola Solutions, up to $73,372.00 for the first year ($25,732 for hardware and implementation and $47,640 for a year of video service), December 9, 2025 (Res. #2025-0442).
- Vehicles: a Ford F-150 police responder, up to $46,085 (February 10); two Dodge Durango police vehicles, up to $86,844 (April 14); and one Durango each on April 28 ($43,422, by bid) and July 14 (up to $43,422).
- Capital ordinances: #2597 includes $158,430 for patrol car equipment, radar units, license plate reader cameras and body-worn cameras; #2594 and #2597 include systems money that covers police mobile data terminals.
- Towing: Somerset Hills Towing received a three-year rotational towing license from April 14, 2026.
The lobby, online reporting and the court
- Lobby hours. TAPinto reported on November 14, 2025 that, after residents’ concerns about the police lobby being locked outside business hours, the department had bought an exterior call box to reach dispatch; it reported the lobby’s hours as 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Resident Todd Edelstein commented on police department hours at the February 24 and May 12, 2026 meetings.
- Online reporting. The Mayor’s October 2026 newsletter says the department launched an online portal where residents can report some kinds of incidents.
- Shared municipal court. Bernards shares a municipal court with Bedminster, Peapack-Gladstone and Bernardsville. In December 2025 the Committee appointed Stephen O. Davis as 2026 prosecutor and Scott C. Mitzner as public defender. The October 27, 2026 agenda listed the appointment of Katherine E. Howes as municipal court judge (Res. #2026-0422); the township had not posted minutes of that meeting as of November 1, 2026.
What the record does not show
Crime and call statistics, and the department’s total staffing after the 2026 hires and retirements, are not in the records LocalWhy reviewed.
What residents can do
- Speak in public comment at any Township Committee meeting (7:30 p.m., Municipal Building, 1 Collyer Lane). The next meeting is November 10, 2026.
- Read each hire, purchase and contract in the Committee’s minutes.
- Corrections to this page can be emailed to info@localwhy.org.