Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • August 14, 2013 Ho-Ho-Kus Borough to receive bids for accreditation consultant by Jennifer Crusco This week, the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus will receive bids for consulting services to obtain law enforcement accredita- tion from the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police. “The police department is seeking a consultant to work with the Ho-Ho-Kus Police Accreditation officer(s) and act as the lead accreditation manager to ensure compliance with the New Jersey Law Enforcement Accreditation Pro- gram (NJSLEAP) and NJSACOP and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement (CALEA) recognition,” the bid specifications state. “The consultant’s services will include management of the process necessary to assemble proofs of compliance, compilation and management of files, on-site assessments, a complete rewrite/revision of existing Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department standard operating proce- dures, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations to ensure compliance with CALEA’s national recognition standards, and other related services as required by the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus and its police department.” Ho-Ho-Kus officials recently decided to take another look at accreditation, noting the potential savings on insur- ance premiums. Achieving accreditation can also help municipalities manage their liability and workers compensation insurance exposure. Last month, the Ho-Ho-Kus Council approved a $25,000 grant application to the Joint Insurance Fund to help cover the cost of state or national accreditation for the borough’s police department, and borough officials subsequently met with representatives from the Rodgers Group, an agency that conducts departmental evaluations. JIF provides these grants as an incentive for police departments to pursue accreditation and offers reduced liability insurance premiums to those departments that successfully attain accreditation. If the grant application is successful, the department would have two years from the date of the agreement to achieve accreditation. If the department does not achieve accreditation within that time- frame, the borough would have three years to return the grant funds to JIF. If the municipality decides to leave JIF before the grant is repaid, the entire balance would be due on the date the borough terminated its relationship with JIF. JIF does not provide additional funding to maintain accreditation. In June, Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Attorney David Bole advised the governing body that he and Ho-Ho-Kus Chief Financial Officer Joseph Citro had discussed the financial aspects of accreditation. At that time, Bole said the cost of accreditation could be $35,000 to $39,000, and said Citro indicated that funds are available to cover the balance not covered by JIF. During the accreditation process, professionals visit a police department for an extensive evaluation that includes reviews of police procedures, bylaws, and promotion poli- cies. The accreditation procedure is usually put out to bid, Bole said, adding that the Rodgers Group generally con- ducts the evaluations. Accredited departments must have detailed, written policies and procedures for officers to follow. The attention to this type of detail results in less successful negligence litigation within accredited agencies. Officials: Borough is currently within NJDEP’s water allotment Ho-Ho-Kus DPW Superintendent of Buildings, Roads, and Grounds Jeff Pattman recently reported that the bor- ough has been able to work within its water allotment thus far in 2013. Last week, he reported that the statistics for July show that the borough pumped a total of 25,124,900 gallons of water, while the allotment is approximately 30,000,000 gallons per month, or one million gallons per day. Pattman, who has been running the borough’s water department on a day-to-day basis, attributed the favorable news to several factors, including the recent repairs of leaks within the system and this year’s regular rainfall. “A major factor has been that the residents are following the watering schedule,” Pattman added. While 200 watering violations were issued in 2012, Pattman said no such violations have been issued so far this year. He noted that a lot of communication involving the department of public works, the mayor and council, and the residents has also helped the situation. “I’m happy with the way the water use is progressing,” Ho-Ho-Kus Mayor Thomas Randall said in a recent inter- view. “Conservation efforts and system repairs continue to help the town.” Last month, Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Administrator Don Cirulli noted, “We’re at acceptable levels of usage and are on – if not ahead of – our scheduled water use. The water- ing schedule is working, and it has helped that we’ve had a good deal of rain. We’re very pleased.” The borough’s entire water system was recently updated, Well #1 was reopened with the permission of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the fine for over-pumping in 2011 has been reduced. In recent years, the borough has twice been fined for exceeding its water allotment. The most recent fine, which covered the over-pumping in 2011, was $76,250 and was later reduced to $45,750 following negotiations between the borough and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In 2012, Eileen Feldman, a public engineer and senior principal of Hazen & Sawyer of New York, and Katie Hoek, principal scientist at that firm, formally asked the NJDEP to consider an increase in the borough’s water allocation. The borough is still awaiting word regarding that request. The borough’s water system currently has five wells. At one time, there were six wells, but Well #3 has been per- manently closed. J. CRUSCO