Gloucester Township Council Approves $475K For Police Equipment

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Gloucester Township Council gave final approval to a proposed bond ordinance that paves the way for upgrades to police equipment when it met at the municipal building Monday night.

Council gave final approval to a proposed bond ordinance on introduction to set aside $475,805, including the borrowing of $453,147 to purchase capital equipment for the police department.
Resident Pete Heinbaugh pointed to about $526,000 that was available in the capital budget, and asked why that money couldn’t be used to cover the needed costs instead of borrowing the money.

“I don’t know if any of that is for outstanding projects that haven’t been completed,” Township Administrator Tom Cardis said. “I would not recommend we use it because of the uncertain times right now. We don’t know what we’re going to be facing. That would be a place where we would be able to take money out for emergencies.”

The uncertainty Cardis was referring to surrounds the coronavirus pandemic. As residents lose their jobs and businesses close, township officials have expressed concerns about the ability to collect taxes and maintain other revenue streams. Heinbaugh pointed out that the township has taken steps to protect the township.

“We did borrow $10 million to handle potential emergencies that come up,” Heinbaugh said. “So that’s available. I’m just suggesting we have the cash available, so we shouldn’t have to do this bond ordinance and borrow further money.”

See related: Gloucester Twp. Borrows $10M Of $53M Set Aside For Tax Shortfall

Council previously authorized the township to borrow up to $53 million for this purpose, and officials said the $10 million was borrowed due to uncertainty surrounding state aid. Read more here: Coronavirus May Cause Tax Shortfall; Gloucester Twp. Has $53M Cushion

It was previously stated that the biggest chunk of the bond ordinance approved Monday night is funding to upgrade computer equipment for multiple township departments. According to officials, about $200,000 of that funding goes toward computer upgrades. Read more here: $475K For Gloucester Police Equipment Includes Tasers, Computers

After the computers, the township will spend about $157,000 on brand tasers, $64,000 to upgrade dispatch services and $30,000 on miscellaneous equipment.

Replacements are being made under an $800,000 contract the township has with the state that covers tasers, body-worn cameras and in-car cameras. The township. Each piece of equipment has a period of usefulness of five years, and they are currently in their fifth year.