Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES Ho-Ho-Kus III • May 5, 2010 Update made to police organization ordinance by Jennifer Crusco Accepting Ho-Ho-Kus Police Chief Gregory Kallenberg’s advice, the borough council last week amended Ordinance 961 to remove a clause concerning promotions in the police department. Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Attorney David Bole called the item to the council’s attention, and suggested a motion be made to strike the clause that Council seeks retention of Bergen County blue laws Bergen County’s blue laws, which restrict the sale of certain items on Sundays and cause some businesses to close that day, remain popular throughout the area, and several municipalities are going on record opposing Governor Chris Christie’s effort to repeal these regulations. Last week, the Ho-Ho-Kus Council approved a resolution officially stating its opposition to the governor’s plan to repeal the blue laws. According to that resolution, Governor Christie did not publicly disclose to Bergen County residents his intentions to repeal the blue laws. In addition, the document states that the governor’s decision “to place a dollar value in his budget for claimed sales tax revenues from such a repeal disregard the positive impact that Sunday closing laws have on...quality of life and ignores their well-established importance to (local) residents.” The resolution states that the repeal would not reduce property taxes, but “would in fact increase local property taxes in costs for local police, overburden our infrastructure, strain our volunteer first responders, and decrease property values…it appears clear that by including Governor Christie’s plan to repeal the blue laws in Bergen County as a line item in his budget, it was not the intent to propose a referendum on the Bergen County blue laws, but simply to do away with them, and…it was not the residents of Bergen County who campaigned for the governor on a platform of reducing taxes, but Governor Christie who did so, and therefore, it is not the responsibility of the citizens of Bergen County to fulfill one of his campaign promises, nor to fill a $65 million gap in his budget.” At the work session before the resolution was approved, Mayor Thomas Randall noted that, while he supports some of Christie’s initiatives, he believes the blue laws should be left as they are. Randall added that the Sunday business closings are a quality of life issue. “The laws don’t hurt business,” Randall asserted, adding that he relishes having one weekend day when the stores are not open, making it easier to travel Route 17. J. CRUSCO refers to promotions being made to the next highest rank, “and in no instance shall the promotion omit a rank.” Bole offered his opinion that the amendment to the ordinance was not substantial and could be approved by the council upon amendment. The ordinance was subsequently amended and approved without further comment from the members of the governing body, or from the public. The council introduced the ordinance to update the official organization of the borough’s police department in March, but the clause that had caused Chief Kallenberg’s concern had not been removed, as previously discussed. Kallenberg previously stated that the clause regarding promotions being made to the next highest rank without skipping a rank could become problematic for the department in the event of any incident that renders a high-ranking police official incapable of fulfilling his or her duties. The chief acknowledged that, had the clause remained in the ordinance, it could have become necessary to promote an officer to a higher rank for an extremely short period of time in order to be able to promote that individual to the next highest rank. A 2001 New Jersey Supreme Court case prompted Bole and Kallenberg to examine the official organization of the borough’s police department. 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. 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 resolution of the Fort Lee 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. The Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department’s current structure allows for the following positions: chief, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, and patrol officer. The newly introduced ordinance calls for not more than one chief, not more than one captain, not more than one lieutenant, not more than four sergeants, and not more than nine patrol officers. At present, the borough has no one in the captain’s position. That position, which is considered the chief’s second-in-command, has been vacant since Harold “Bud” Minchin left the department. Ho-Ho-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 officers are expected to retire this year. ���������������������������� KEANE FIT & WELLNESS ��������� �������������������������� Sheila Keane ������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������� ������������������������ ��������������������� ���������������������������������������������� MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL BUY 4 SE SSIONS GET 5 ��������������������� $250 • EDUCATED MA in exercise science • CERTIFIED ACSM, NASM, Post Rehab Pos Specialist, MAT Specialist • EXPERIENCED 15 years one-to-one personal training 201-341-0183 • CALL NOW Fitness, Weight Loss, Bariatrics, Geriatrics & Parkinson’s Programs