Jersey City and its police unions may soon reach a deal that would allow for the return of off-duty jobs for cops.

The two sides have been negotiating for months, ever since the two unions filed a lawsuit in Hudson County Superior Court in January seeking a return of off-duty gigs. Mayor Steve Fulop slashed all those jobs that month, citing a string of now ex-cops who admitted in federal court that the program was at the center of a no-show jobs and bribery conspiracy.

It’s not clear what shape a deal would take, but sources told The Jersey Journal that it’s possible an outside company would be hired to administer the off-duty jobs program. Before Fulop killed the program, cops divvied up the off-duty assignments.

A lawyer for the police unions appears hopeful about a deal. In a March 29 letter to the judge overseeing their lawsuit against the city, attorney James M. Mets asked for a delay in court proceedings in that case, saying the two sides are in talks to produce a new ordinance that would govern off-duty jobs “and we are optimistic that this will occur.”

The unions argue in their lawsuit that Fulop’s decision to halt all of the cops’ side gigs was illegal because the council never repealed the existing ordinance regarding off-duty jobs. During a February court hearing, an administration lawyer said that the off-duty jobs program had been “paused,” not ended entirely, which contradicted Fulop’s previous public statements on his action. Since then, the administration’s official line has been that the program is on hold, not over.

City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione declined to comment on the unions’ letter.

“There is no change to the city’s position,” she said.

Off-duty jobs are generally security gigs or managing traffic at construction sites. The cops who admitted their guilt in the federal probe of the program said they took money for jobs they didn’t perform, approved fake pay vouchers for other cops to do the same and bribed officers for their silence. A total of 10 cops were charged in that probe.

The jobs can be lucrative for officers. In 2017, roughly 600 cops made a total of $22 million working off-duty gigs, city payroll records show. One officer made $125,000 from off-duty work that year, in addition to his $61,000 salary.

Absent off-duty police officers, construction sites have used flagmen, security guards or state troopers, a system that has been lambasted by local cops and questioned by members of the City Council.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.