Residents Upset That Mayor's Name, Phone Number Are On Emergency Notification Messages

Residents are upset that Mayor William Laforet’s name and phone number appear on an online emergency notification system that police and other emergency services entities use.

Every message that is sent out on the Mahwah Police Department’s Nixle account bears Laforet’s name, his cell phone number, township e-mail address, and the message “transparency in government.”

It is one of the five reasons a group of citizens has initiated a recall against Laforet. The group claims that Laforet is using the “police communications channel for self-promotion.”

According to the group, 6,000 people subscribe to Mahwah Police Department’s Nixle page.

No other emergency services group in Bergen County does this on Nixle.

The messages do contain the department’s non-emergency phone number below each message.

Laforet defended the reasoning the alerts bear his information.

“It’s a practice we’ve had since 2011. That’s just what we’ve done. It’s a transparent way of communication with residents,” Laforet said. “We’re one of the safest communities in New Jersey and Nixle has some value in making that determination.”