Township Council Moves Ahead With Plan to Eliminate Police and Fire Chiefs

The township council voted Tuesday to introduce an ordinance to merge the police and fire departments into a new department of public safety, eliminate the job of chief, and hire current police chief Robert A. Wilson as the town's first-ever public safety director.  The move is a step toward a final council vote on creating the new department.

Council members Barbara Toffler and Lizette Parker opposed introducing the ordinance in a 5-2 vote.  A final vote to create the public safety department will take place in two weeks.

Under the plan, the public safety department would consist of a police and fire division each headed by a deputy chief reporting to Wilson.  Outgoing police chief Wilson, who earns $165,000, would be named director of public safety, overseeing administration of both divisions at a $110,000 annual salary. After retiring, Wilson would temporarily be hired as deputy town manager Nov. 1 before taking the public safety job in May.  State law prevents Wilson from overseeing public safety for six months after his retirement unless he is willing to give up his pension.

Eliminating the chiefs would save more than $260,000 per year in salary and health benefits, Township Manager William Broughton said in a public presentation given at the council meeting. Those who support the plan, including Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin, Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen, and Council members Elie Katz and Yitz Stern, have said the plan will increase accountability because the public safety director would be a civilian employee reporting to the town manager, and not covered under laws known as a police chief's bill of rights.

"This is a real opportunity to give management better controls of the administrative functions of our police and fire department," Katz said in an e-mail.

Although Wilson, a career police officer, has never worked in a fire department, supporters said he was a skilled manager who understood issues facing the town.

 "We all have the ability to go beyond our current experience," Gussen said. "Teaneck has spent the better part of three decades investing in the professional development of Chief Wilson."

Another component of the plan, merging police and fire 911-dispatch, would move one police officer back to street duty and put four firefighters back on trucks, Broughton said.  Under the current system, fire and police dispatch are separate, with some uniformed members manning each call center.

Opponents of the plan, including the Policeman's Benevolent Association and New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, said it would politicize the police, lead to low morale among rank and file officers, and expose the town to lawsuits.

Toffler was quoted in a NorthJersey.com article as calling the plan political cronyism, something Broughton responded to in a sharply worded statement to the council.

"I don't think it's right that you [Toffler] made those reckless comments," Broughton said.

Toffler apologized for using the word "cronyism," but said Broughton's longtime friendship with Wilson should be considered.  Creating the public safety department would be a setback to Broughton's successful efforts to improve township employee relations, she said. 

Toffler and Parker both said they were concerned that the position was being custom-made based on Wilson's needs.

"I really have issues with creating positions for individuals," Parker said.

"This is classic sleazy New Jersey politics," said police Lt. Michael Ferrante, president of the Teaneck Superior Officers Association. "It all sounds so ridiculous because there is not an ounce of legitimacy to this proposal."

Eliminating the tenured position of a sworn chief would politicize police decisions, said Officer Gerry Rosano, president of the town's Policemen's Benevolent Association.  The move would hurt already low morale among officers, he said.

In addition to township police and fire personnel, members of the state's police chief association showed up to voice their opposition to the plan.  

South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka, second vice president at the state chiefs of police association, said the public safety director would have no law enforcement powers and asked that he be allowed to give a presentation detailing the pitfalls of the proposal.

Gussen, the township's deputy mayor, questioned the motives of the chiefs saying they opposed the plan to save their own jobs in communities across the state.  Those on both sides of the issue cited examples of similar public safety departments in area communities.  What makes Teaneck's move unique, however, is that a paid fire department would be placed under the new director and the title of chief removed.

Some residents who spoke at the meeting said they wanted more time to consider the plan and were worried about any impact on emergency response time.

"Looking at the proposal I am even more baffled than I was before," said Theresa Edwards of Teaneck.

Broughton said the plan would have no impact on emergency response times and encouraged any residents with questions to contact him.

Councilwoman Monica Honis voted for the ordinance but said she was undecided on the final vote.

"Just because I vote to introduce something doesn't mean I will vote to support it,' she said.

While the idea of having a public safety department has been discussed on and off since 1992, the concept gained momentum after the retirement of Fire Chief Robert Montgomery and a string of retirements by high-ranking police officials. Wilson had announced plans to retire, but stayed on after the council offered him a contract to remain in the job until Dec. 31. 

Editor's note: Readers may view the presentation given by Township Manager William Broughton by clicking on the attached image. The presentation was provided by the Township Manager's Office and has not been edited. A video of the presentation is available on the township website.