Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-October 27, 2010 Issue

October 27, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Mahwah Township police to beneﬁt from forfeited funds by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah Police Department will use $88,521 in forfeited funds to pay for police department equipment. The total expenditure, which will cover the cost of several types of police equipment, has been approved by Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli according to guidelines established by the state’s Attorney General’s Office for the use of forfeited funds. The township will spend $24,259 for a police department interview room recording system; $15,767 for a transmission recording system for telephone, radio, and car to car transmissions; $2,959 for desktop computers; and $45,536 to purchase an electronic citation system known as E-Ticketing. The township will be reimbursed by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office with forfeiture funds from the county’s municipal escrow account. “These funds, which are added to the Mahwah 2010 budget by a Chapter 159 resolution, come from an account maintained by the Bergen County Prosecutor for the Township of Mahwah,” Township Administrator Brian Campion explained. “When cash or proceeds are forfeited from a criminal activity worked on by the Mahwah Police Department, the funds are turned over to the Bergen County Prosecutor, who maintains an account for Mahwah Township. The prosecutor monitors the balance in the Mahwah account, and when the Mahwah Police Department requests funding, the request must be approved by the township administrator and by the county prosecutor.” Campion further explained that the funds cannot be used for regular operational expenses, but must be used for specific, non recurring projects. “If the funds are approved after the adoption of the annual municipal budget, a Chapter 159 resolution is required to add the item to the budget,” Campion said. “The funds recently approved are not the result of any specific arrest or forfeiture, but all the forfeiture monies are placed into the Mahwah Municipal Escrow Account maintained by the Bergen County Prosecutor.” According to the information provided by one of the companies providing the new technology, the E-Ticketing system will be installed in the township’s police cars and will permit the printing of a copy of a citation for the motorist once the police officer has completed inputting the data. It will also electronically forward the summons information to the court at the same time, eliminating the need for handling and storing paper copies on the part of the police department and the court administrator’s office. In cases where officers issue multiple summonses, they will be able to process the summonses more quickly, as the motorists’ information will be transferred to subsequent citations. Once this system is installed, hand-written tickets will be eliminated along with the problem of illegible citations, and the police officers will have more time to participate in patrols. Sun s t Orch e Beatrice recognized at BOE meeting The Mahwah Board of Education recently recognized Mahwah High School educator Yvonne Beatrice, the 2010 New Jersey State Preserve American History Teacher of the Year. This award is presented by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Pictured are Supervisor of Social Studies and World Languages Miriam Lezanski, Mahwah Museum Board of Trustees Vice President Charlie Carreras, Beatrice, social studies teacher Paul Saporito, and Mahwah High School Principal John Pascale. Carreras nominated Beatrice for the award in honor of the ‘Meet Mahwah’ research project she created for district students. Sunset Orchards �� Snacks • Candy • Nuts • Seeds • Seafood Zaloom Marketing Corp. 51 James St. S., Hackensack, NJ 201-488-3535 Company Store Exit 65 off I 80. Right on Green, Right on James �� WWW.SUNSETORCHARDSSTORE.COM For Great Corporate or Holiday Gifts Visit us at WWW.SUNSETSNACKSALES.COM $ �� Any Purchase of $25 or More Expires 12/31/10 Store Coupons 5.00 10.00 OFF OFF $ Any Purchase of $50 or More Expires 12/31/10 Store Coupons ar ar ® d ds ��