JACKSON – In a three to two vote, the Township Council approved the position of public safety director during a recent council meeting.
Two weeks earlier, the council debated over the introduction of the ordinance that created the position. That meeting included some critical remarks towards Police Chief Matthew Kunz by the leaders of two township police unions.
The police department was previously run by a director of public safety for more than two decades before transitioning to a chief of police. Kunz became chief in 2008 and served as the public safety director for two years before that.
Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin explained the duties of the position which will serve as a liaison between the Jackson Police Department and the Township Administration. The ordinance did not replace the police chief or eliminate the position.
The person chosen to fill this role would have the responsibility of assisting with any corrective recommendations to the administration including budget items, reporting on police department-related issues to the township, establishing a police performance and standards policy, and to keep current with New Jersey state mandates for reporting and accountability of local police departments as directed by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
“I stand by my ‘no’ vote. I expressed before that I feel we should table this ordinance so leaders and officers of the township police department can meet and hash out their problems with the administration. I feel whatever differences you have within the ranks, the police department should be able to handle it from within the organization and not at the governing body level,” Councilman Nino Borrelli noted.
He added the position could cost up to $200,000 in an added salary “with benefits. I’ve always voted for the resources for law enforcement to do their jobs effectively and I thank you for your service and am sorry we have disagreements but sometimes that occurs with the human factor involved.”
Councilman Mordechai Burnstein said after he was appointed to council and soon after given the position of council liaison to the police department, “I had the opportunity to start meeting members of our police force and many were hesitant to speak to me because I have a personal relationship with the chief.”
“My duties on council go above my personal relationship with the chief and I have to do what I feel is best for the township of Jackson,” he added.
Burnstein said he listened to members of law enforcement on several levels, residents and former council members. “I am confident that my vote tonight will reflect all their opinions and I will be voting yes.”
Councilman Steve Chisholm also stood by his position from the last meeting. “In the last four years that I have sat here I have never had an officer, at any point at either a public function, Jackson Day or in private say there is such dysfunction and failure of leadership until about two weeks ago.”
“If this was an ongoing problem and such an issue with the chief, I don’t know how creating a position with a $200,000 salary is going to correct that because you are still going to have the chief in that position. It doesn’t necessarily correct that – it just burdens the taxpayers. Having this problem with two different factions is not good for the town. It is not going to get any better,” he added.
Chisholm voted no saying, “I don’t think we’ve exhausted all avenues. We’ve already had this position in the past and it didn’t work.”
Councilman Scott Sargent’s comments were brief. “My position is different from Mr. Borrelli and Mr. Chisholm and I vote yes.”
Council President Jennifer Kuhn read a prepared statement before casting her vote. “The Jackson Law Enforcement community overwhelmingly supported the development of a public safety director and they understand this position will improve our police department and allow us to better serve the residents of Jackson. I vote yes.”
Kuhn previously noted that a requirement of the position would be a minimum of 20 years police service with police management and that all applicants to be considered would have had to have held the rank of sergeant or higher. She and Burnstein spoke with the two Jackson police unions who recommended the creation of the position.
PBA/SOA Speak
PBA President Jeffrey Henba said that during the prior council meeting he had “advised all about the issues that the PBA and Special Officer Association (SOA) members have had with the chief and the lack of leadership and decision making that we are dealing with on a daily basis. We see firsthand what we lack and what we need to make the agency the best it can be.”
“Our chief does not fight for or listen to his employees’ wants or needs,” Henba said. He accused the councilmen who voted against the ordinance at the last meeting of not listening to the information that he and Rodriguez had presented.
Borrelli said he had reached out to the PBA prior to the last council meeting but had not received any response.
SOA President John Rodriguez requested that the new public safety director should come from the ranks of the superior officers claiming this would save taxpayers money.
He also praised the council and defended their recent jump in pay from $8,000 to $32,000 annually with the council president position increasing from $9,000 to $35,000 representing. Rodriguez told the council, “you deserve every penny of it.”
The post Public Safety Director Job Created In Jackson appeared first on Jersey Shore Online.
