Township Councilmen Move Forward with Shared Services RFP

The majority of the Washington Township council voted Tuesday to move forward with a request for proposal to keep the possibility of grant money available if officials decide to use county dispatch.

The split 3-2 vote came after a lengthy discussion about the wording in the resolution and the council's intent. Councilmen Glenn Beckmeyer and Richard Hrbek, who voted against the measure, disagreed with using merger and consolidation throughout the document when officials have said they are only interested in sharing dispatch services. The resolution that was ultimately voted upon was taken from what Montvale, Park Ridge and Woodcliff Lake had previously approved for their municipalities.

Because the original deadline passed and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office set a new date of Nov. 15 for Washington Township, Westwood and Hillsdale to submit paperwork to be eligible for a $100,000 grant, Council President Fred Goetz said there was no time to rewrite the request for proposal (RFP). Since the resolution also included Westwood and Hillsdale, he also worried that making changes to the document would hurt their chances of being eligible for the grant money.

Goetz also stressed that by approving the resolution, the council was not agreeing to any study or other action related to it.

Beckmeyer said he had "a lot of reservations" about the proposal because of the use of the word merging and because it relied on what two other municipalities decided. If the towns conduct a study with the grant money and some decide not to implement recommendations, then they are not eligible to receive the funds.

Council Vice President Steve Cascio was in favor of approving the resolution because of the opportunity it provides.

"If you want to leave $100,000 on the table, that's not going to be on me. If it doesn't work out for the Township of Washington, we're not going to do it," Cascio said. "But you gotta keep the door open. It might be throwing money away that we might be able to use."

Councilman Joseph D'Urso agreed. "We're looking to pass the resolution just to secure but not spend any money," he said. "Why not just have it there just in case?"

At a held to discuss the possibility of going for the grant, emergency personnel asked officials to carefully consider their decision. Tuesday night, members of the reiterated that point, especially in light of the weekend storm that brought between 750 and 1,000 calls.

Police Chief Randy Ciocco asked councilmen to take their time deciding. "No matter which way we do this, don't rush it. Let's take a look at every option," he said. "We will work with you. We are not opposed to any plan. Please let's do it the right way."

Lt. Gregg Hackbarth said during the storm, members of the police department tried to contact Bergen County police with no luck. He said he was worried that using an outside dispatch service would hurt the response time for residents.

"You want our level of services to remain what they are if not be the best in the state," Hackbarth said. "But I can tell you that if you get involved in a dispatch system not unique for your town, those level of services are going to drop."

Goetz said that while police had trouble contacting the county department, the 911 calls were answered. The township's emergency personnel were using non-emergency lines, which were given a lower priority.

Officials also stressed that they would be investigating all possibilities.

Township resident John Tekirian urged officials to keep the dispatch service in house. "It's worth it," he said.

Councilmen approved the resolution 3-2, adding dispatch to the list of merger and consolidation items to be studied. The paperwork will be submitted to the Bergen County Prosecutor's office by the Nov. 15 deadline. The resolution does not commit the township to any specific action.

The next council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 21.