HOLMDEL – Members of the Holmdel Township Committee have adopted an ordinance that will allow certain individuals to be hired as entry level law enforcement officers without taking a written examination.
During a meeting on Nov. 23, Mayor Greg Buontempo, Deputy Mayor Cathy Weber, Committeeman Prakash Santhana, Committeeman Tom Critelli and Committeeman D.J. Luccarelli voted “yes” on a motion to adopt the ordinance.
No one from the public commented on the ordinance during the public hearing that preceded the council’s vote to adopt the legislation.
According to the ordinance, a new state law allows law enforcement agencies to hire entry level officers without requiring the individual to take a written examination if that individual has successfully completed a full basic training course at a school that has been approved and authorized by the New Jersey Police Training Commission.
Business Administrator Cherron Rountree said Holmdel is a civil service municipality and previously when hiring a police officer, received a list of qualified individuals and had to hire one of the top three individuals on the list.
She said the ordinance the Township Committee adopted will provide municipal officials with an option when hiring entry level police officers.
All applicants who seek appointment to the Holmdel Police Department are required to successfully complete a physical, mental and psychological examination.
All qualified applicants for the position of police officer will be classified in the following classes: residents of Holmdel; other residents of Monmouth County; other residents of New Jersey; all other qualified applicants, according to the ordinance.