May 29, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Mahwah One police overtime issue resolved; another arises by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah Township Council resolved one police overtime issue at its last public meeting, but another has surfaced. The most recent dispute about police overtime, which involved police officers’ attendance at Tuesday night court sessions on overtime, was resolved when the council and Mayor William Laforet issued a joint statement indicating they were no longer going to pursue the matter. However, there is now a new concern about increased police overtime costs due to sick leaves. This issue came to light when the status of the township’s budget for the first quarter of 2013 was reviewed. Mahwah Township Administrator Brian Campion advised that his biggest concern was the police overtime that was incurred due to a large number of police officers on sick leave. As a result, other officers were required to cover the shifts on an overtime basis. Campion explained to the council that, at various times, there have been up to five of the department’s 48 police officers below the rank of captain out on sick leave. The situation has caused an increase in the cost of police overtime, even though the overtime expense for court attendance on Tuesday nights has decreased since the attendance of police officers on those court nights was eliminated. Campion emphasized that the two types of overtime are not connected in any way. He explained, “It’s a different type of overtime due to injuries.” The budget status report presented by Campion was based on the township’s temporary budget, since the council did not adopt its budget for the year until April 18. The council had asked Campion to return with a status report for the complete quarter ending April 30. Council President Harry Williams also asked him to break out the police overtime from the cost of police salaries and to identify the revenue received from the municipal court during the first quarter. During the public meeting, the council also announced that it had received a report from the ad hoc committee that was formed to investigate the available legal candidates and the potential cost of hiring a special counsel to conduct an investigation into who authorized police overtime for police presence on overtime in municipal court on Tuesdays. That police overtime issue, which arose due to an increase in the cost of police overtime last year, has been the subject of much discussion among the council members, Mayor William Laforet, Police Chief James Batelli, and Dennis Harraka, the township prosecutor. Laforet hired an attorney to represent him in case the council decides to hire its own special counsel to investigate the overtime issue. The council voted to go into closed session to discuss the report. Mahwah Township Attorney Andrew Fede was not part of the closed session discussion, since he had previously notified the council that he would have a conflict of interest in this matter. He pointed out that his responsibility as township attorney is to represent the entire governing body, but this matter concerns a dispute involving the mayor, the police chief, the township prosecutor, and the township council. The mayor, business administrator, police chief, and the township prosecutor were not invited to attend the closed session, although Laforet was called into the meeting toward its conclusion. After half and hour, the council returned to the public meeting and Council President Williams read a jointly prepared statement that explained that there have been “multiple misunderstandings by various parties at several levels” and “these misunderstandings led to miscommunications between the mayor and the council and heightened the levels of mistrust and acrimony which have become counterintuitive to a productive working relationship.” The statement explained further that “the discord associated with this issue has distracted both parties from the town’s business and is not in the best interest of our taxpayers. Both the mayor and the council have agreed that rather than expend additional time and resources dissecting the anatomy of misunderstandings, our efforts would be more appropriately and productively spent dealing with the considerable issues confronting the township. “Both the mayor and council acknowledge past mistakes in process and communications and have resolved to work more closely in fostering a more amicable working relationship built on trust and cooperation. We both agree that there were no grounds for any allegations of wrongdoing by either the police chief or the prosecutor and that both parties have conducted themselves in accordance with their statutory authorities.” Williams said the mayor and the council now consider the matter concluded and they have resolved to work together to prevent any future misunderstandings through greater dialogue and mutual cooperation.