Township may leave police position open

Chief says department will make do with three lieutenants,

but sees ‘ramifications down the road’
By:Roger Alvarado
   With the uncertainty of the current labor dispute between the township and local PBA, Mayor Steven Sireci says that Township Committee members "can’t commit" to filling Lt. David Murphy’s position when he retires effective Feb. 1, 2005.
   Lt. Murphy has been with the department since June 1, 1981.
   Police Chief Robert Gazaway says Lt. Murphy will be missed.
   "He’s been an excellent employee all through the years he’s shown to be an excellent police officer," Chief Gazaway said. "He’s very versatile and is known for his fairness and knowledge of police work. Wherever I placed him he just did an excellent job, it’s a mixed blessing that he’s reached the age to retire, he will be missed."
   Lt. Murphy has served as an instructor with the Somerset County Police Academy teaching recruits and service officers, Chief Gazaway said.
   Lt. Murphy has volunteered his services to help coordinate the township’s emergency management responses.
   Lt. Murphy’s departure means that the department will be forced to indefinitely operate with three lieutenants instead of four.
   Capt. Robert Roscoe will be asked to assume Lt. Murphy’s responsibilities as Investigative Division Commander in the interim, according to Chief Gazaway.
   Mayor Sireci says that once the PBA contract is settled and its impact upon the municipal budget is known, the township will look to "revisit the issue of filling the position."
   "Whether or not we maintain a $130,000 to $150,000 lieutenant position with salary and benefits is driven by the budget and what the PBA contract does to the overall police budget," Township Administrator Kevin Davis said.
   In 2004, police salaries and wages amounted to $3.9 million of the $21.7 million municipal budget.
   During the Dec. 14 Township Committee meeting, Chief Gazaway told the committee members that he "understood" their budget concerns and said he would make every effort to "make it work" with just three lieutenants.
   However, he warned that though the impact of having one less lieutenant might not be felt "right away," ramifications would be felt down the road.
   Chief Gazaway urged committee members to "revisit" the issue as soon as possible.
   Chief Gazaway also said it would behoove the township from a cost savings standpoint to fill the position before the end of February of next year.
   Chief Gazaway said that a sergeant’s list, which is an eligibility list for promotion within the department, will expire at the end of February.
   If no one is chosen to replace Lt. Murphy then the department would have to spend $3,500 to $5,000 to order a new set of sergeant’s examinations (written tests to determine qualifications and order of promotion) if the list is allowed to expire.
   "He himself said at the meeting that he can make it work even though he’d prefer not to," Mayor Sireci said Tuesday. "We have to sit there and have the whole financial well being of the town be at stake, we can’t sit there and make a decision that’s only concerned about one department."