PRINCETON: Panel says no to acting chief title

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   The idea of an acting chief for the Princeton Township Police Department was rejected by the Public Safety Subcommittee of the Transition Task Force last week and the top two candidates for the chief position, which should be decided in about six weeks, were revealed.
   The group did recommend if the township were to proceed and name Lt. Chris Morgan acting chief, that they do so with a sunset clause so the position would expire at the end of the calendar year.
   The main reason for not agreeing to the acting chief is the temporary position could jump Lt. Morgan ahead of officers with more years on the force. If Lt. Morgan was not chosen as chief of the new department — which as the ranking officer in charge, he is a candidate along with Borough Chief David Dudeck — he would become the next highest ranking officer in the new department.
   ”At some point there would be a decision between the acting chief and the chief as to who would run the department,” said Mark Freda, chair of the subcommittee and chair of the TTF. “The assumption would be then whichever one was isn’t chosen would be the next ranking officer and then the other officers would fall below that. That would cause a change in the chain of command and line-up of the officers as they exist today.”
   There is one officer on the borough force that has the rank of captain, which is higher than a lieutenant.
   Lt. Morgan, who is sharing the duties of running the department with Lt. Robert Toole, after the retirement of Chief Robert Buchanan last month, remained in the meeting room for the discussion, and offered insight into how the issue got started.
   He said township history includes an acting chief appointment when there has been no chief and in law enforcement circles, lieutenant in charge does not have the same weight as an acting chief title and the organization is still searching for leadership.
   ”I think our concern is really the integrity of our own police department,” said Township Committeeman and Police Commissioner Bernie Miller, who feels the acting chief title is a good idea and if consolidation were not happening the township would be searching for a new chief and looking to hire more junior officers. “We are short-staffed, that’s been discussed before. We have concerns about being able to provide the leadership within the department and have leadership recognized within the department and outside the department.”
   Borough Councilman Kevin Wilkes said the department will no longer exist and they will be making a decision on chief soon.
   ”Bernie’s argument makes sense if your department was going to exist down the road,” he said.
   Another key reason for considering the position of acting chief is the Township Policeman’s Benevolent Association (PBA) Local 387, requested the change to strengthen the leadership of the department since an officer-in-charge title does not carry the weight of an acting chief title.
   The union members unanimously felt they needed a defined leader in the department, said Detective Benjamin Gering, PBA president. Membership in the PBA includes the lieutenants, who were not at the meeting where the issue was discussed, which would have been in the past two months.
   ”This isn’t the first time we’ve made that request, we’ve made it in the past,” he said. “In the police being like military, you need someone at the top with a title. We wanted a defined leader so that for the next seven or eight months we know who is going to be the leader and steer this department through consolidation along with all the day-to-day practices we have in law enforcement.”
   ”The township PBA voted it; it’s something they want, they see it as a need in the organization,” added Lt. Morgan, who said the PBA made the recommendation to the Township Committee. “It was a joint meeting with the Borough PBA, although they did not vote, they recognized the fact that it’s important to the organization.”
   Borough Detective Daniel Federico, president of the borough PBA, said the joint meetings have been a regular occurrence as the officers prepare to come together.
   ”At the meeting the township PBA voted to write a letter to the council to make (Lt. Morgan) acting chief,” said Patrolman Federico. “We never voted to have him named, we never discussed it or endorsed it.”
   An acting chief position would not see a pay increase, said Kathy Monzo, township CFO.
   Mr. Wilkes said the promotion would go against the model for the new department, which includes a chief, a captain and four lieutenants.
   ”We shouldn’t force the future municipality into a rank structure we didn’t endorse,” he said.
   Borough Lt. Robert Currier said his department has used the lieutenant in charge position in the past and had no problems.
   ”No offense to anybody in the room, no offense to township elected officials, but I really view this more as a matter of people positioning borough versus township,” said Mr. Freda. “The department can run with an officer in charge, the borough did it for a year and to move the lieutenant in charge up to a higher position in my mind is clearly a way of saying, ‘We are worried there’s too many borough officers at the very top and not enough township officers.’ In my mind, the whole borough-township thing is dead and gone. It’s one town and that’s life. I view this as being pushed for the wrong reasons.”
   Mr. Freda also pointed out that a title does not affect the safety of the community.
   ”He’s not going to act differently. He’s going to make the same decisions. He’s going to do the best of his ability no matter what his title is,” he added.
   Mr. Freda also reveled that the personnel subcommittee is going to recommend that Lt. Morgan and Chief Dudeck be the candidates for chief.
   Mr. Freda said naming him acting chief will push his ranking above other officers who have had more years of service in the department, should he not be named chief.
   Borough Councilwoman Jo Butler said Mr. Buchanan’s departure has added “a huge burden.”
   ”If we were going to name him acting chief, why wasn’t it done right away?” she questioned. “It doesn’t withstand the smell test in my opinion to wait this length to name him one thing and now to want to do something else.”
   The subcommittee felt that working out the ranks of the new department was something the new chief could sort out.
   The recommendation for no action by the township, but if the township decides to act to have a sunset clause, was not unanimously supported, but it passed.
   The issue is on the Township Committee agenda on May 8.