MIDDLESEX TWP — After months of contract negotiations between the police union and the township, discussions have ground to a halt, and the union has opted to take the matter to arbitration.

At issue is the union's request to switch to a “step salary scale” to control how much officers are paid and when pay increases are due, according to Jack Haller, an attorney representing the union. Under such a system, officers' pay would be based on a metric of experience and time at the department, with automatic raises after a set period.

“Basically, the police are looking for a step salary scale so all the police officers are on a fair system: that when you get so many years in ... you get this salary,” Haller said. “Right now it's completely arbitrary.”

This would provide officers an incentive to stay, he said, and show the township is working to invest in the growing need for public safety.

Township solicitor Mike Hnath, representing Middlesex, declined to comment for this story.

In collective bargaining negotiations between townships and police departments, either party can opt to go to arbitration, in which each party presents its case to an arbiter.

That arbiter weighs the issues at hand and makes a ruling with which both parties are obligated to comply.

Haller, a township resident himself, said as the township grows, it needs to find ways to incentivize its officers to stay at the department.

“Our position is (that) Middlesex is a growing township and that it needs to keep professional police officers,” Haller said. “They're doing some building and a lot of new homes, and this is a growth period for Middlesex. And with growth also comes some expense.”

He said other growing townships in the area — Cranberry, Penn, Butler — are investing similarly in their departments.

“All we're asking is we don't treat our police as just an expense,” Haller said. “Sometimes you have to look at what basic services you're offering at a township, and if you want good ones you have to pay for it.”

An arbiter is being selected, and Haller declined to give an estimated timeline, saying this can vary from case to case.