Councilmen Put Police Table of Organization Ordinance on Hold to Get Chief's Input

Township councilmen unanimously approved a motion to table an ordinance modifying the table of organization for the police department after hearing from Lt. Richard Skinner during the council meeting Monday night.

Skinner asked the members of the governing body to hold off approving the ordinance so that they could speak with Police Chief Randy Ciocco about the changes.

"If we restructure the police department without speaking to the chief, I think we're doing a disservice to the police department and to the citizens that we serve," Skinner said.

He said that if the council were to approve the ordinance without negotiating with the police department, the PBA would file a grievance that could become costly for the township and negate any savings from eliminating higher paying ranks.

Skinner added that he disagrees with eliminating the rank of captain, which the ordinance would do through attrition, because it exists throughout Bergen County. He said it makes more sense to have a captain instead of a first lieutenant, which doesn't exist anywhere else.

Skinner said he didn't have a problem with reorganizing the department, but he wanted the councilmen to speak with Ciocco before making a final decision. He said the input from the chief could help make the changes better.

Council President Fred Goetz said the members of the governing body had been working on the ordinance for months and tabled it several times. He added that council members did meet with a union representative and made some adjustments based on those conversations.

Councilman Richard Hrbek asked the council to consider tabling the ordinance. "I request the council take the time to at least hear the input of the police department," he said. "That's their business. We're trying to balance a budget but we may not have a complete understanding of the situation."

Goetz said the council had requested to meet with the police chief and union representatives and instead of getting information, they were "undercut" with promotions of personnel to captain and lieutenant.

Goetz accused the township administration of trying to stop the council from moving forward with the ordinance.

"My feeling is not to table it because I think it's another stall tactic," Goetz said. "It needs to be said that the administration has been stalling and doing everything in their power to undercut our moving forward with this ordinance."

Mayor Janet Sobkowicz disputed that claim.

"At no time did anybody here request to meet with the police chief," Sobkowicz said. "It's a very political issue. There's a lot more behind the scenes than indicated here."

When the council voted on a motion to table the ordinance, the decision was unanimously in favor.

Goetz said, "I look forward to meeting with the police in the next two weeks if the mayor will allow us to."

The next council meeting is scheduled for April 25.