Township and PBA settle on staff cuts

Force to be reduced by four, via attrition

By: Rachel Silverman
   After a week of negotiation, the Princeton’s Township administration and police union have reached an agreement on staffing reductions: The 35-officer department will be trimmed to 31, entirely through attrition.
   Layoffs, which had been harshly rebuked by the union, are now off the table. Instead, officials hope to achieve the target through retirements and voluntary buyout packages.
   "There’s more than one way to get there," Township Administrator Jim Pascale explained in an interview Monday. "We decided not to get to 31 through layoffs or demotions."
   Police personnel — most of whom were present Monday night when the issue was raised before the Township Committee — responded to the settlement with varying degrees of approval.
   Officer Ben Gering, president of Princeton Policemen’s Benevolent Association No. 130, the union for non-ranking officers, described it as the lesser of two evils.
   "Although we would not like to see a reduction, we think it’s more positive to do it through attrition rather than layoffs," he said Monday. "Given the situation, the PBA is happy."
   Capt. Mark Emann, who is not part of the union, was more enthusiastic.
   "When the news came down, I was elated," he said. "It works out very well for the Police Department, as well as for the town."
   Representing the Princeton Taxpayers Association, Jim McKinnon echoed this sentiment at Monday’s meeting.
   "We support the decision," Mr. McKinnon said. "There are probably other areas we could get some outside input on."
   Other residents, including Ellen Souter of Snowden Lane, a Republican and former member of the Township Committee, were less appeased.
   "It did not come into the public and was not voted on," she said, calling the move to reduce the size of the police force "unauthorized and what I would call illegal."
   Her husband, Sydney Souter, agreed.
   "You can’t buy it publicly and implement it in secrecy," he told the Township Committee. "That’s public business, and I just want you to know that I resent it."
   Mr. Pascale defended the process leading to the announcement.
   "Personnel matters are closed-session items," he said. "I don’t think the township did anything illegal whatsoever.
   "It’s very clear to me that the authority is there," he added.
   Wesley Derbyshire of Clover Lane also criticized the decision, asking the committee to re-examine the possibility of borough-township police consolidation.
   "We need to unify those, because there clearly is a waste in resources between the two," he said.
   Township officials pointed to cost savings as the principal reason for carrying out the cuts. A $100,000 police efficiency study, unveiled in June, suggested that the municipality could reap significant cost savings from a reduction in force.
   Conducted by Virginia-based consultant Carroll Buracker & Associates, the study included an 18-week, top-to-bottom review of the department. Among its conclusions were that seven positions — one lieutenant, two sergeants, one detective and three officers — could be eliminated from the force. This would save up to $3 million over five years, the report stated.
   After discussions with ranking officers, the township decided to institute only four of the seven recommended cuts.
   One of the four positions will be reserved for Chief Anthony Gaylord, who has been on a paid leave of absence since June. Another will go to an injured officer on disability leave. The two remaining positions are still under negotiation with senior officers, Mr. Pascale said.
   "We’re very, very close on the third one," Mr. Pascale said. "We should have that by the end of the week."
   Officer Gering has suggested that the Buracker report contained significant inaccuracies. Specifically, he cited inflated police vehicle counts and an unrealistic violent crime index. He also said the report contained calculation errors in determining the number of investigative staff.
   Though he did not go into those details Monday night, he explained that the "lines of communication are open," and that he has been relaying concerns to commanding officers.
   He also said discussions have been ongoing about the impact downsizing would have on community programs.
   Capt. Emann said he did not know which programs would get cut, but emphasized that all cutbacks would be in-house.
   "We have a history of making do," he said. "We can adapt our manpower and our services."
   In addition to staffing changes, a subcommittee consisting of Mr. Pascale, Mayor Phyllis Marchand, Deputy Mayor Bernie Miller, Capt. Emann, Lt. Bob Buchanan and Lt. Mike Henderson plans to review police dispatching and a number of operational issues in the department.