Mastronardy Adds Second Undersheriff Position To His Department's Payroll

TOMS RIVER - And the winner is retired Brick Police Chief Nils R. Bergquist.

Bergquist - who retired from the Brick police force in December of 2015 - was appointed on Wednesday at the last Board of Freeholders meeting in 2016, according to app.com.

He will be paid $99,292 for the undersheriff position and will still collect his $130,691 annual pension from the state Police and Firemen's Retirement System at the same time. He will be paid a total of $229,893 in 2017 and will start work for the county on New Year's Day.

Ocean County Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy named Bergquist, 60, to the position. Only the sheriff has the power to appoint, while the freeholders must approve his salary, according to the report.

Klimakowski will oversee department operations while Bergquist will handle administrative affairs, according to county officials.

Bergquist retired from Brick after 35 years on the force. He also received a $58,000 payout when he left the department.

Bergquist retired as Brick's top police officer on Dec. 1, 2015, ending 35 years on that municipal force. He started his law enforcement career in Seaside Heights in 1977 after graduating from Point Pleasant Borough High School and attending Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command. In 2008, he was named Brick's chief of police.

Ocean County Administrator Carl W. Block said that the second undersheriff position is not an increase in personnel in the Sheriff's Office, since there are two top positions that have not yet been filled.

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Image: Patch file photo