Galloway Police Saving Money with Two Initiatives

With a decreasing force and facing tough economic times, the found a way to save some money by entering into a shared- services agreement for dispatch services with Mullica Township, a move approved unanimously by the Galloway Township Council in a resolution at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The agreement is for five years, and the two departments will split the cost at $50,000 apiece, translating into a savings of between $45,000 and $50,000.

The agreement becomes official July 1, according to Galloway Police Chief Patrick Moran.

“It’s two towns looking to save money,” Moran said. “We’ll add two people and some additional part-time people.”

Moran wasn’t sure how many part-time people might be added, but he said that full-time experienced dispatchers would make about $35,000 a year.

Galloway already is involved in a shared-services agreement for IT with Absecon.

“It allows us to defer some costs, and use what resources we have to help with dispatch for Mullica,” Moran said. “It allows us to recoup our costs.”

Equipment has been brought in, according to Moran. The only thing blocking the way is Mullica’s current agreement.

Mullica currently uses District 10 dispatch. That agreement dissolves on July 1. Galloway operates on District 26 frequencies.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the Galloway Council unanimously approved a resolution to execute an agreement with Investech to provide background checks for the police department.

Currently, when a new officer is under consideration, a Galloway detective will be assigned to conduct the background check.

“That takes manpower and time,” Moran said.

Former Galloway Police Officer Jim Brennensteuch runs the company, and will conduct all background checks needed for the police department, at no cost to the township or the taxpayer.

“We can now put the burden on him to do a complete background check,” Moran said. “We’ve discussed it with him in-depth. The process will be supervised by the police department. We’ve worked with him and discussed our requirements.”