Township Councilmen Introduce Ordinance to Change the Police Table of Organization

Members of the Washington Township council voted unanimously Monday night to introduce an ordinance to change the table of organization for the . If adopted, the measure would eliminate some positions through attrition.

At the last council meeting, Mayor Janet Sobkowicz announced the promotion of Glen Hooper to captain and Gregg Hackbarth to lieutenant. because they were considering eliminating captain from the ranks since no one had occupied it.

The ordinance the council introduced Monday eliminates the rank of captain through attrition, meaning that Hooper will remain a captain in the department until he leaves through retirement, promotion or some other reason. Other changes include the eliminations, through attrition, of second class sergeant, patrolman first class and patrolman second class.

Council President Fred Goetz said the recent changes in the department shouldn't stop the governing body from moving forward.

"It does not change the fact that this ordinance still needs to go forward in my opinion because it's planning for the future and that's what we're supposed to be doing," Goetz said. "We had a setback with the appointments but we're still supposed to be doing our job and planning for the future."

Sobkowicz told the councilmen that she believed captain was an important position within the police department. She said the person in that position can go out on patrol in addition to being responsible for setting the schedule for department members. She added that a captain does a different type of job than a lieutenant.

"I feel strongly that we should have a captain and eliminate the first lieutenant," Sobkowicz said. "The lieutenants all know who's the highest in seniority and who's not."

Councilman Joseph D'Urso asked the mayor if she would be making any more promotions for 2011. After saying no, D'Urso suggested further discussion on the ordinance since it wasn't a rush.

But Goetz said he didn't see a reason for delaying the introduction further since the council has discussed and worked on the ordinance for two months. When he called for a vote, the ordinance was unanimously introduced.

The public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for April 11 during the regularly scheduled council meeting.