A n ordinance that would grant the Borough Council the power to hire a civilian police director to run the Freehold Borough Police Department awaits a vote at the Sept. 15 meeting of the governing body.
A divided council introduced the ordinance on Sept. 2.
Voting to introduce the ordinance were Council President Michael DiBenedetto, Councilman Kevin Kane, Councilwoman Sharon Shutzer and Councilman Ron Griffiths.
Voting “no” on the introduction of the ordinance were Councilman George Schnurr and Councilman Jaye Sims.
If the ordinance is adopted, the council will have the power to include a civilian police director in the Police Department’s roster of employees.
The introduction of the ordinance earlier this month signaled a shift from 2012 when council members declined to follow a consultant’s recommendation to place a police director/officer in charge at the head of the department.
The consultant’s review of the Police Department was conducted during 2011 as Mitch Roth was preparing to retire as police chief. The council subsequently named Glenn Roberts police chief, and he still holds that position.
“We did our due diligence after that [2011] study,” Schnurr said, adding that the council members all voted to keep what he called the police chief model. “This is old territory as far as I’m concerned.”
Schnurr said statistics show the borough’s crime rate has declined from 53.2 incidents per 1,000 residents in 1996 to 23.6 incidents per 1,000 residents in 2011.
“The police chief model has been working well for us,” he said. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. We don’t need a civilian, a political appointee, running our Police Department. We need the Police Department running the Police Department.” Sims said he is “a fan of the police chief and rank and file, having worked with the Police Department and the sheriff’s office. It is my opinion that having a police director creates a complex situation and confuses our current status. I think it confuses the rank and file in terms of who answers to who.”
Shutzer said the ordinance will not name a police director today, but will give council members the opportunity to do so in the future if they choose to do so.
“It simply opens the door to that,” the councilwoman said. Kane, too, said the ordinance gives the council the option to hire a police director.
“It has nothing to do with the way it is going now,” he said.
DiBenedetto said he has attended seminars concerning the pros and cons of having a police director or a police chief. He said the police chief model has worked well for Freehold Borough, but he was not certain that would be the case in the future.
“We put Chief Roberts in the best position he can be in and have given him the training he needs to best serve his men, and he has proven himself and I believe he will continue to do so,” DiBenedetto said. “Will we use this [ordinance] tomorrow or next week? No. I would not vote for that. It just gives us that option.”
Griffiths said a police director is not a law enforcement position, and the individual who holds the job is not entitled to perform law enforcement duties.
“What a police director does is establish rules and regulations for the Police Department, oversee the department, keep records of transactions, develop the annual budget and analyze crime statistics,” he said.
Griffiths said adding the position would “enhance and improve” the Police Department.
Mayor Nolan Higgins called the ordinance “another tool in the council’s tool box” and said he was pleased the council introduced it in order to have the option to hire a police director in the future, if needed.
The mayor does not vote on the adoption of ordinances.
According to the ordinance, the police director “will report to the borough administrator and to the mayor and council and will serve as the administrative and executive head of the Police Department, establish rules and regulations for the Police Department and the discipline of its members.”
The ordinance lists the duties of the police director, which include establishing procedures to be followed by the chief of police and other subordinate officers for the purchase of equipment and supplies, keeping a record of all business transacted by the Police Department and approving all bills for department expenses.
The chief of police will report directly to the police director and the police director will receive daily or periodic reports from the chief of police.
The police director will be appointed by the mayor and council for a term established by the governing body. The police director would serve at the pleasure of the mayor and council and could be removed at their discretion.
The ordinance states, “If a police chief is appointed, he/she shall exercise any and all of the rights, authorities, powers and responsibilities reserved solely to the chief of police pursuant to (state law).
“Any other rights, authorities, powers and responsibilities not reserved solely to the chief of police shall be assumed or delegated by the police director.
“If a police chief is not appointed, any and all of the rights, authorities, powers and responsibilities reserved solely to the chief of police, which cannot be performed by the police director, shall be delegated to a chief law enforcement officer, which shall be the highest ranking sworn officer, as designated by the police director.”