August 22, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 5 Allendale Police plan local 911 emergency response system by John Koster Mayor Vince Barra and the Allendale Council responded very favorably to a detailed plan by Police Patrolman Mike Dillon to take over the 911 emergency response system from Mahwah. Patrolman Dillon explained that Allendale now contracts 911 responses for emergencies with Mahwah, and the current contract will end on Dec. 31. He said the contract is pegged at $4,489 a year based on the number of residents in Allendale. “What I propose is that we answer our 911 calls ourselves,” Patrolman Dillon said. He said a three-day course offered by Rutgers University would enable him to become a certified 911 trainer and that he would then be authorized to certify the other people on the Allendale Police Department involved with 911. Hackensack University Medical Center would provide a medical backup. Patrolman Dillion said the start-up cost would be $2,850 for training, $495 for his own certification as an instructor, and $294 for new equipment. Once the program is in place, he said, the costs would be further reduced. “It would still be less than what we’re paying to Mahwah,” Patrolman Dillon said of the costs for 2013. “The next two years would be significantly less.” “It’s great to see our police officers take initiatives and try to set up programs,” said Mayor Barra, who liked the idea of Allendale having a local 911 response system. Patrolman Dillion has been a police officer for 11 years, (continued on page 16) The Allendale Borough Council has introduced an ordinance that stipulates the requirements for membership on the Allendale Volunteer Fire Department. Allendale Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Shute and First Captain Tom Smith had spoken about the proposed ordinance in some detail at the council’s June work session. The wording of the draft stipulates that no person shall be an officer of the Allendale Fire Department unless he Fire department membership defined shall be a resident of the Borough of Allendale, a non-resident full-time borough employee over the age of 18, an active firefighter in a fire department in another municipality and is employed by the Borough of Allendale, or resides in a municipality that borders on Allendale or is within a three-mile radius of Allendale. Adoption or this ordinance is anticipated at the August public council meeting. J. KOSTER