HIGHTSTOWN: Police chief in the dark

By Vic Monaco, Managing Editor
    HIGHTSTOWN — Several Borough Council members and the public weren’t the only people kept in the dark about a feasibility study of the consolidation of the borough and East Windsor.
    While municipal staff from both towns recently provided assistance to the consultant, that staff did not include Hightstown Police Chief James Eufemia. He and the head of the police union in the borough said this week that they had no idea their department was being reviewed by the firm hired last summer by the Greater Hightstown East Windsor Improvement Project.
    “I knew nothing about it,” said Chief Eufemia. “I learned when they stepped up to the podium at the Borough Council meeting (Feb. 2).
    The report, by Government Management Advisors, of East Brunswick, envisions the elimination of five police officers if the two towns merge, and all would be from the “supervisory and command ranks.”
    So what does that mean for Chief Eufemia, a borough officer since 1981 and chief since 2001?
    “Obviously, we wouldn’t have two police chiefs,” he answered. “I don’t know. That’s a good question.”
    He indicated he wouldn’t necessarily retire if he found himself out as chief.
    “I’d be open to a discussion with a governing committee of both communities,” he said. “I would want to hear what they have to say first.”
    Chief Eufemia said, on the bright side, he thinks the elimination of five positions could be accomplished through attrition. And, he added, the consultant has said the cuts would not necessarily be all from Hightstown.
    David Chenoweth, head of PBA Local 283, expressed more concern.
    “I was shocked,” he said of the report unveiled last week. “I don’t know what to say. I just want to see what happens. We’re upset. Everybody is worried.”
    Despite that, both he and the chief said Hightstown officers continue to do their job to the best of their ability.
    “I’ve asked them that this not be their focus, and they been very good about it. In that vein, I’m pleased,” the chief said.
    Patrolman Chenoweth said his discomfort started before last week’s revelation of the total consolidation study when he recently talked to another consultant hired openly by both towns to study the possibility of East Windsor taking over police coverage in the borough.
    “The Patriot (Consulting Group) guy said we’d have to interview with East Windsor,” he said.
    “Now, all of sudden they’re talking about a merger,” he added. “I pray to God nobody has to lose their job. I know of some officers in East Windsor getting ready for retirement in the next two years, so maybe no one has to lose their jobs.”
    East Windsor Police Chief William Spain did not return a call seeking comment.