On the Township Council agenda for Tuesday, 12/2/25 is Ordinance No. 2025-24, which sets the minimum and maximum salaries for elected and appointed Township officials.
Yes, this includes elected officials. Under the 2025 proposal, the Mayor’s maximum salary is listed at $5,500 and Council members at $4,500. What remains unclear from the ordinance or from anything easily accessible on the Township website is how that compensation is actually delivered. Does the Mayor receive a paycheck? Are these funds tied to reimbursements? The public has no straightforward way to confirm.
Another notable point is the wide gap between minimum and maximum salaries. In several cases the maximum is nearly four times the minimum, and there is no explanation of criteria, performance measures, or benchmarks used to justify such a spread.
Top Salary Variances in Ordinance 2025-34
Ordinance 2025-34 sets minimum and maximum compensation for 49 positions in Berkeley Heights. These are the ten positions with the largest salary ranges.
Average variance across salaried positions only: $41,116.26
Average variance among the top 10 widest ranges: $86,100.00
| Rank | Position (Exact Title) | Variance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chief | $154,000 |
| 2 | Township Administrator | $116,000 |
| 3 | Chief Municipal Financial Officer | $85,000 |
| 4 | Township Engineer | $76,000 |
| 5 | Township Clerk | $76,000 |
| 6 | Tax Collector | $75,000 |
| 7 | Assistant Administrator / Personnel Officer | $74,000 |
| 8 | Zoning Official (Tree Inspector & Code Review Officer) | $72,000 |
| 9 | Director of Public Works | $68,000 |
| 10 | Associate Recreation Director | $65,000 |
Because several positions on the list are appointed roles, the public deserves a transparent explanation of how these ranges were developed and who benefits most and why.
2025 Amended Ordinance Compared to 2023
The 2023 salary range ordinance set the Mayor’s maximum at $4,000 and Council at $3,500. The 2025 amendments raise those caps by $1,500 and $1,000, respectively.
The Township Administrator’s maximum salary was previously $166,000, and the new cap increases that by more than $10,000. The Chief of Police was capped at $220,000, and the new cap increases that by more than $24,000. There is no assertion that individuals are underperforming, but the ordinance provides no reasoning for why certain positions see notable increases and others do not.
How Berkeley Heights Compares to Nearby Municipalities
New Providence
The ordinance uses five employee-level categories, but it is not clear who fits into each tier. The maximum salary for general employees is $190,000. The Mayor’s maximum salary is $9,000, which is about $4,000 higher than Berkeley Heights, and Council members have a maximum of $7,500, which is about $3,000 higher.
Warren
Township Committee members, which is the equivalent of Council members, have a maximum salary of $10,915, which is roughly double Berkeley Heights. The Township Administrator’s salary cap is $230,100, which is about $35,000 higher than Berkeley Heights, and the Chief of Police is capped at $230,450, which is about $10,000 lower than the Berkeley Heights maximum.
Summit
The Administrator salary cap is $196,537, which is around $20,000 above Berkeley Heights. Summit’s Director of Community Services has a maximum salary of $161,262, which is roughly $60,000 above the Berkeley Heights Recreation Director maximum, although Berkeley Heights does list an Associate Recreation Director position at $45,000, which narrows the overall difference.
Source Documents
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