February 10, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 Ho-Ho-Kus Attorney, police chief consider organizational chart by Jennifer Crusco A 2001 New Jersey Supreme Court case has prompted Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Attorney David Bole and Ho-Ho-Kus Police Chief Gregory Kallenberg to examine the official organization of the borough’s police department. Bole recently explained that, in Reuter v. the Borough of Fort Lee, a police officer was promoted to a position that had been established by a borough resolution. The court ruled that police department positions must be created by ordinance, so they are effectively established according to law. As of last week, Kallenberg and Bole had met, and the attorney was working on a proposal. Action on this matter must be taken this year, according to an official familiar with the matter. An official summary of the Reuter case notes that the Fort Lee Council had enacted an ordinance in the early 1980s, which allowed that positions in the police force could be established by resolution. In 1996, Captain Jeremiah O’Sullivan was named deputy chief, a post that had been created via resolution. O’Sullivan was subsequently promoted to chief of police. The individual who was then mayor of Fort Lee and two persons who had sought the chief’s position filed a suit in which they challenged the legitimacy of O’Sullivan’s appointment as deputy chief. According to the plaintiffs, because the deputy chief’s position was not established according to law, O’Sullivan’s tenure in the position was illegal, and should have disqualified him as a candidate for chief of police. During the trial, the court found the deputy’s post was invalid because it was created by resolution and not by ordinance. As a result, O’Sullivan was not permitted to remain police chief. State law allows a municipality to establish a police force by ordinance. That ordinance must provide for the line of authority relating to departmental functions, and may provide for the appointment of a police chief and other personnel as needed. Following the court’s ruling, O’Sullivan returned to the position of police captain. Recently, Borst Landscape & Design, based in Allendale, presented ‘Protecting Your Trees and Shrubs from Hungry Deer’ at the Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library in HoHo-Kus. The discussion focused on organic and natural ways to keep deer off local properties. For more information, review the presentation at http://borstlandscape.com/newsletter/ Deer-Management.pdf. Pictured are: Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library Director Sandra Witkowski and Bob Malgieri, tree and shrub care manager at Borst Landscape & Design. Organic answers He appealed the decision, but the Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s ruling. The case was eventually certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Following the resolution of this case, the state began to require that no appointment could be made to any police department position that was not created in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118. Appointments made prior to this decision are still considered valid. As a result, the court found that O’Sullivan was not prevented from holding the chief’s position because the deputy’s post had been created by resolution. The Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department’s current structure allows for the following positions: chief, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, and patrol officer. At present, the borough has no captain. That position, which is considered the chief’s second-incommand, has been vacant since Harold “Bud” Minchin left the department. HoHo-Kus currently has one lieutenant; four sergeants, three of whom run the squads, and one of whom is the department’s detective; and nine patrol officers. Two department officers are expected to retire this year. NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LEADER IN CONTEMPORARY VARICOSE VEIN TREATMENT 265 Ackerman Ave. Ridgewood, NJ 201 791 9339 www.chubackveins.com ������������ ��������� ����� ���������� �������� ��� �������� � ��������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� ����������� ����� ���� ����� ���� ���� �������������������������������������� � �������������� ���������������������������������������� ����������� ������������ �������� ���� ������������������ ��������������