Acting Chief Martin Horvath took over as acting chief the day after former Chief Paul Karkoska retired Aug. 16.
By: William Greenwood
MONROE Jamesburg’s new acting police chief, Martin Horvath, is drowning in a sea of paperwork.
Acting Chief Horvath, of Monroe, said he thought the amount of written work was overwhelming in his previous positions as a patrol officer, sergeant and lieutenant, but now that amount has at least doubled.
"Every day the mail box is checked, and every day it’s emptied, and every day you come in the next morning and it’s full again," he said. "It seems like a never-ending flow of paperwork."
However, working his way out of a mountain of paper is just a part of his new job, and one Acting Chief Horvath is learning to deal with. Now, he is turning his attention to maintaining the Jamesburg Police Department’s positive reputation and building on the successes of his predecessors.
"I think our department’s a very professional department," he said. "Well trained. Most of the men were born and raised in this town, so they have a caring for this town. I want to continue on the tradition of the other chiefs of this department that made this department really what it is today."
Acting Chief Horvath took over as acting chief the day after former Chief Paul Karkoska retired Aug. 16. The Borough Council will decide whether to make Acting Chief Horvath’s appointment permanent after Jan. 1. Chief Karkoska will remain on the borough payroll until Dec. 31. He is earning a salary of $113,725. Acting Chief Horvath will earn $109,000.
In order to continue former Chief Karkoska’s legacy, Acting Chief Horvath plans to ask for two or three more officers to be added to the police force. He said the department only had seven officers when he became a full-time officer in Jamesburg in 1986, but now 13 are employed.
"I don’t see where a 14- or 15-man police department is an unreasonable number of men for Jamesburg," he said.
Acting Chief Horvath said he also plans to continue modernizing the department’s equipment.
"Every chief has his goals, and equipment is always an important part," he said. "You can never supply the men on the road enough with the modern equipment, the computers and the cameras."
He said his main goal is to make his officers’ jobs easier, which in turn will keep the borough safe and allow him to do his own job more effectively.
"Anything I can do to make their jobs easier is certainly going to make my job easier," he said. "That’s really the big thing, to try to keep the men motivated and keep the men happy."
Acting Chief Horvath also plans on maintaining former Chief Karkoska’s routine of spending a few hours in the office in the morning, going out on the road for a few hours and then returning to the office to finish up for the day. Acting Chief Horvath said being out amongst community residents is an important part of the job for him, and he does not want to forget about that aspect of his duties.
"I want to help with additional enforcement or just to be able to get out there and see what’s going on," he said. "I don’t really think you can run the department without knowing what’s going on out there. I think being out there and actually seeing it is what’s beneficial."
He said Chief Karkoska also helped him transition into his new job in other ways.
"When I made lieutenant in January, Chief Karkoska, he allowed me to get actively involved from the beginning in terms of the paperwork and everything that goes on as far as the aspects of the chief," Acting Chief Horvath said. "So, really, for the past nine months as a lieutenant, I’ve been pretty actively involved, so come Friday morning when he was not here, it wasn’t that big of a shocker. He really made the transition quite easy."
While former Chief Karkoska only served as chief for eight months, Acting Chief Horvath acknowledges that he has some big shoes to fill. However, he’s not aiming to eclipse his predecessor, but to create his own legacy as a "good chief."
"I think there’s so many things that go into that," he said. "I think that’s the simplest in-a-nutshell legacy that anybody could ask for."

