EDISON, NJ — Township employees, including police officers, have begun to be furloughed after Monday's Municipal Budget Public Hearing and Adoption vote ended without action, according to a statement from the Edison Policemen's Benevolent Association.
The union and the Edison Fire Fighters Association are urging residents to attend a special council meeting Thursday, warning that furloughs could increase if the council does not approve emergency appropriations.
Mayor Sam Joshi has called the special meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at the Council Chamber in the Municipal Complex at 100 Municipal Blvd., according to a notice published to the township's website Tuesday.
The meeting was called under N.J.S.A. 40:69A-179, and the agenda includes votes on two resolutions authorizing Temporary Emergency Appropriations for the 2026 municipal and sanitation budgets, along with a public comment period.
The meeting was called under N.J.S.A. 40:69A-179, and the agenda includes votes on two resolutions authorizing Temporary Emergency Appropriations for the 2026 municipal and sanitation budgets, along with a public comment period.
The meeting follows Monday's Municipal Budget Public Hearing and Adoption vote, which ended without action after the council lost its quorum. Three of the township's seven council members — Vice President Robert Kentos, Councilman Ajay Patil and Councilman Biral Patel — did not attend. Councilman Richard Brescher left partway through the meeting, leaving only three members present and ending the session before a vote could be taken.
Brescher told Patch Tuesday he left after the administration failed to provide documentation he had requested showing where the budget reduced spending on take-home vehicles. Mayor Joshi, in a statement issued Monday night, called Brescher's decision to leave "reckless and childish" and said it denied residents and council members the opportunity to discuss or amend the budget.
In a statement dated July 21, the Edison Policemen's Benevolent Association, NJSPBA Local No. 75, said it was advised following a meeting with the township administration and labor leaders that the township "has exhausted its available funding" and that the majority of the municipal workforce, including police officers, is now being furloughed. The statement did not specify how many employees have been furloughed.
"Police officers don't get to decide whether they're going to show up when the public needs them," PBA President Michael J. Piperato said in the statement. "They answer the call every single day, no matter the circumstances. Our elected officials should be held to the same standard. Because four members of the Township Council failed to do their jobs Monday night, police officers have already been furloughed. If the Council fails again Thursday, even more officers are expected to be sent home. Public service begins with showing up."
The PBA statement said officer furloughs are expected to "increase significantly" if the council does not approve emergency appropriations Thursday.
The Edison Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 1197, issued a separate statement saying that, as a result of the furloughs and the township's inability to backfill positions, the Battalion Chief position assigned to Car 7 at the New Dover Road Firehouse and the Captain position assigned to Engine 9 at the Menlo Park Firehouse went unfilled the night of July 21. The union said this left the department "operating with reduced supervisory staffing, resulting in dangerously low levels of fireground and operational supervision."
"Regardless of the uncertainty created by last night's events, the members of the Edison Firefighters Association IAFF Local 1197 and Edison Fire Officers IAFF Local 2883 will continue to do what we have always done: answer the call," the statement said. "Our fire officers and firefighters will continue to report for duty, respond to emergencies, protect lives and property, and serve our residents."
Both unions credited Council President Joe Coyle, Councilwoman Kelli Dima and Councilman Asaf Shmuel for attending Monday's meeting and being prepared to conduct business.
In a statement, Joshi said council members have participated in 18 public and closed-door meetings and "countless phone calls" over three months of budget discussions without introducing an amendment or alternative to the proposed budget. According to a timeline provided by the mayor's office, individual meetings between council members and the mayor took place on April 22, April 23, May 14, May 15 and May 18, and budget binders were completed May 13 and emailed to the council May 14. The budget was formally introduced May 20.
"They're impacting municipal government," Joshi said. "There's hundreds of people that are concerned about their furloughs or their jobs or livelihoods, and that's just not okay."
The statutory deadline for municipal introduction and approval of the budget had previously been extended from February 10 to March 31, 2026, and the adoption deadline extended from March 20 to April 30, 2026, according to the mayor's timeline.
Brescher, in Tuesday's interview with Patch, disputed the mayor's warning that a delayed vote would trigger furloughs, saying past Edison administrations have adopted budgets as late as August or September without furloughing employees. He said he is willing to meet once the administration provides the vehicle-spending records he requested and the council agrees to reinstate a prior ordinance restricting take-home vehicle privileges.
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