PBA still heated over proposed police cuts Even after tax reform passes, questions loom over two-cop cut BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer KATHY CHANG The Metuchen PBA Local 60 shows their disappointment with Mayor Edmund O'Brien and the Borough Council for not replacing two police officers, who left through attrition. METUCHEN - Mayor Edmund O'Brien said the borough is in much better shape than it was a month ago, with the state Senate's approval of the 51-page property tax reform last week. However, it has still left the borough with an unpredictable future for the next calendar year. Borough officials are still deciding whether or not to replace two borough police officers who have resigned from the force. "I am more optimistic this calendar year as we move forward," said O'Brien. "The [approval of property tax reform] has offered some relief, but it's a much different relief than in previous years." Gov. Jon Corzine declared that "relief is on its way" after the state Legislature approved tax reform legislation by a vote of 28-10 on Feb. 6, which provides up to 20 percent of property tax relief to most homeowners and a 4 percent cap on annual property tax hikes. Corzine has 45 days to give final approval to the legislation. The proposed legislation, which took over six months to finally pass through the state Senate, says a household earning up to $100,000 should expect a 20 percent tax cut, a household earning up to $150,000 should expect a 15 percent tax cut, and a household earning up to $250,000 should expect a 10 percent tax cut. Last month, the borough was feeling the heat because the Legislature allowed a three-year law to expire in November, which had kept health insurance and homeland security costs outside the state-mandated 3.5 percent increase cap for municipal budgets. Homeland security costs do not apply to Metuchen. "If the Legislature does not reinstate the law, the borough must budget between $1.3 [million] and $1.5 million in health insurance costs," said Borough Administrator William Boerth at the Jan. 16 council meeting. "This is a serious problem that we have to find a solution for." Since the borough's municipal budget runs on a calendar year (starting Jan. 1), the administration is feeling the burden of dealing with a $750,000 deficit while putting its proposed $13 million budget together. "The bottom line is, we have to submit a [temporary] balanced budget by mid-February," said O'Brien. "We usually receive our state aid by the end of June and finalize our budget in August." However, with the state Senate's approval last week, the cap modification of state benefits will give the borough a little leeway, but no decisions have been made yet. As the administration is deciding what to do, the borough's police department is still grappling with the administration's decision last month to put a freeze on all open full-time positions, which brought the once 28-member police department down to 26, which became official on Feb. 5 when the council accepted the resignation of Patrolman Don Heck, who was a 12-year veteran of the force. The council accepted Patrolman Timothy Hayduk's resignation on Jan. 16. Hayduk had joined the force in February of last year. Joseph Ernest, president of the Metuchen Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 60 and a nine-year veteran of the force, came to the Jan. 16 and Feb. 5 council meetings to voice his concerns with the administration's decision to not replace the officers. "The decision puts a limit on what taxpayers pay for, and that is services, whether from us or the public works, fire, and first aid departments," said Ernest, who was among a dozen other members of the police department and residents. "The problem is not only health insurance, but all insurances that [all] borough employees have. Our entire 28-member force costs the average taxpayer less than $2 a day. The decision to reduce the street patrol officers by 10 percent is a bad idea. Police officers are the first responders before anybody else, whether a person's water heater broke, someone is having a heart attack, choking, or someone's breaking into a home. "When someone calls 911 in the borough, a Metuchen dispatcher answers the call. We are responsible for the safety of nearly 13,000 residents. This will certainly hurt the quality of life for them and anyone else in our community," Ernest said. Ernest said that contrary to what many people think, Metuchen has approximately 5,000 people per square mile, which does not account for the 250,000 cars that drive through the borough every day. "I suggest the mayor and council come out and do a ride-along before they dismiss the police department as just another line item," said Ernest. "I understand that Metuchen is not Newark or Camden, but there is still a risk. We all have families and one incident is enough to [jeopardize] our safety. The mayor and council have an obligation to protect us. By not replacing the two officers, they are putting us in danger as well as the residents." Metuchen police officers are the sixth-lowest-paid department in the county. After five years, a patrolman can receive top pay, which is $75,496. Kevin Duffy, an Edison resident who has two daughters who go to private school in Metuchen, wanted to know what the administration's plan is if Edison were to take over. "The Edison police officers know their area and the Metuchen police officers know this area," said Duffy, who also volunteers on the Edison council's financial board. "My concern is with two police officers not being replaced; then what about the police presence when kids come in and out of the schools?" The mayor said the administration is taking one problem at a time and has no plan at this time. Plan A was to stop the S-1 bill (which deals with consolidation), and has for now been stopped," said O'Brien. "State Senator [Barbara] Buono [D-18] said our rally on consolidation has had an effect on her colleagues. Now we are working on the cap issue." Police Chief James Keane said that reducing his force by two is a concern because even at the maximum level at 28 police officers, the department was at its bare minimum. "We might not be able to provide the same level of service that we like to have and the residents are used to, but we will do our best," said Keane. "We will have 26 officers, but there are other accounts that we have to look at; for instance, vacation time, sick days. I have an officer on light duty because he injured his hand and I have an officer who has to go on medical leave for six to eight weeks in the near future. So, we won't have the full 26 officers on year-round." The Department of Community Affairs Division of Local Government replaced; then what about the police presence when kids come in and out of the schools?" The mayor said the administration is taking one problem at a time and has no plan at this time. Plan A was to stop the S-1 bill (which deals with consolidation), and has for now been stopped," said O'Brien. "State Senator [Barbara] Buono [D-18] said our rally on consolidation has had an effect on her colleagues. Now we are working on the cap issue." Police Chief James Keane said that reducing his force by two is a concern because even at the maximum level at 28 police officers, the department was at its bare minimum. "We might not be able to provide the same level of service that we like to have and the residents are used to, but we will do our best," said Keane. "We will have 26 officers, but there are other accounts that we have to look at; for instance, vacation time, sick days. I have an officer on light duty because he injured his hand and I have an officer who has to go on medical leave for six to eight weeks in the near future. So, we won't have the full 26 officers on year-round." The Department of Community Affairs Division of Local Government Services conducted an assessment of the police department from January 2005 to November 2005, at the request of the mayor, which caused a stir last March when two reports surfaced. Both reports cite that the department would be more efficient with 29 or even the optimum number of 31 officers. "We'll do the best that we can to provide the services," said Keane. "I will have to move the officers around by taking my two traffic officers and putting them back on patrol and taking one detective out of the bureau and putting him back on patrol. I will have to set up mandatory overtime hours. It's just not a good situation and I hope Trenton realizes the seriousness of the problem." Keane said the biggest complaint that the police department receives from the 13,335 residents is traffic-related, such as speeding and congestion. Over the past few years, the department has averaged 6,000 moving violations a year. "We like to think that we are aggressive with traffic enforcement," he said. "With traffic enforcement, we can deter criminal activity as well." Keane said he has been interviewing potential prospects, but said he understands that they are not going to wait around until the Legislature decides to renew the law or not. "It also puts a strain on my police officers because there is no job security," he said. The mayor said at the Feb. 5 council meeting that the borough cannot legally fund two additional police officers and cited other townships and boroughs that have had similar problems due to the expired law. "Edison Township has hired three new police officers, but had nine vacancies; Perth Amboy laid off eight police officers [which has since rehired four of the eight, due to contributions from two corporate taxpayers]; and Princeton laid off four of their police officers," said O'Brien. Ernest questioned the 10 vacant positions in the borough, due to attrition, that have not been filled. "The borough has been in a fortuitous situation," said O'Brien. "The borough's problem has not been the cap problem, but a tax problem. The Public Works Department has gone from three guys on the truck to one. This has happened because it's more efficient, which should happen." The mayor said he has every intention of replacing the two officers who have left, and he's staying optimistic. "We don't anticipate holding a cap referendum in March," said O'Brien, who stressed that the state Senate's approval has only offered some relief on the pension and health insurance benefits. "Right now, we are able to live under the 3.5 percent cap." The cap referendum was one of the plans that the borough was planning to hold, which would let voters decide if they would agree to a tax hike to cover only health insurance costs. The second plan involved looking at cuts in personnel, which the mayor has said he does not want to do. However, Ernest, who displayed signs on his car that read "Metuchen PBA Local 60 opposes Mayor and Council refusal to replace vacancies in Police Department," said he has lost faith in the administration. Ernest said he sent a letter Jan. 22 to Council President Cathy Totin, who is also the police commissioner, asking for her support to do what is necessary to ensure that the Metuchen Police Department could continue its exceptional service in the borough. As of Feb. 5, Ernest said, he had not heard from her. When Ernest asked Totin at the Feb. 5 council meeting why she did not respond to his letter, she said because she only received the letter on Feb. 2 and said she would respond after the meeting. "Also, I knew the state Senate was voting tonight [Feb. 5], and wanted to wait for the results," she said. The state Senate did not make its final vote until Feb. 6. When the council meeting adjourned, Totin approached Ernest and told him again that she received his letter on Feb. 2 and she would respond, but the conversation ended in a shouting match with a dozen police officers watching the argument unfold. "I want the mayor and council to know that I'm not going anywhere," said Ernest. "Losing two cops does not help. What qualifies the council to say 26 police officers are sufficient for the borough? The DCA has even said we should have 29 to 31 officers." Department has gone from three guys on the truck to one. This has happened because it's more efficient, which should happen." The mayor said he has every intention of replacing the two officers who have left, and he's staying optimistic. "We don't anticipate holding a cap referendum in March," said O'Brien, who stressed that the state Senate's approval has only offered some relief on the pension and health insurance benefits. "Right now, we are able to live under the 3.5 percent cap." The cap referendum was one of the plans that the borough was planning to hold, which would let voters decide if they would agree to a tax hike to cover only health insurance costs. The second plan involved looking at cuts in personnel, which the mayor has said he does not want to do. However, Ernest, who displayed signs on his car that read "Metuchen PBA Local 60 opposes Mayor and Council refusal to replace vacancies in Police Department," said he has lost faith in the administration. Ernest said he sent a letter Jan. 22 to Council President Cathy Totin, who is also the police commissioner, asking for her support to do what is necessary to ensure that the Metuchen Police Department could continue its exceptional service in the borough. As of Feb. 5, Ernest said, he had not heard from her. When Ernest asked Totin at the Feb. 5 council meeting why she did not respond to his letter, she said because she only received the letter on Feb. 2 and said she would respond after the meeting. "Also, I knew the state Senate was voting tonight [Feb. 5], and wanted to wait for the results," she said. The state Senate did not make its final vote until Feb. 6. When the council meeting adjourned, Totin approached Ernest and told him again that she received his letter on Feb. 2 and she would respond, but the conversation ended in a shouting match with a dozen police officers watching the argument unfold. "I want the mayor and council to know that I'm not going anywhere," said Ernest. "Losing two cops does not help. What qualifies the council to say 26 police officers are sufficient for the borough? The DCA has even said we should have 29 to 31 officers."