PASSAIC COUNTY, N.J. — One police chief is organizing a fashion show to save a community policing program. Another hired special officers at $16 an hour to do desk work that had been done by his regulars at more than three times the pay.
All over North Jersey, police brass are figuring out new ways to cover their communities as budgets get slashed.
In other words, necessity has become the mother of invention.
"I never thought when I went to the police academy that I'd be hosting a fashion show, but we need to do whatever we can," said Mahwah Chief James Batelli, who has held several fund-raisers already, including one last year with a dinner and raffle for a Mercedes-Benz that raised $18,000 for bullying seminars and Internet safety programs.
In several departments, like Cresskill, police are being asked to take time off instead of overtime pay. In other departments, including Wayne, Emerson, Harrington Park, Clifton, Leonia and Saddle Brook, officers are switching their schedules to avoid overtime altogether.
And in some, such as Harrington Park, chiefs and captains are working patrols in addition to performing their administrative duties.
Such measures are being applauded by the state Attorney General's Office.
"The attorney general and top staff have met with law enforcement representatives and have expressed encouragement of initiatives to explore regionalization, sharing of police services and other innovative efforts," spokesman Peter Aseltine said. "We have let them know that we encourage them to explore all options while still undertaking the mission of protecting our communities."
But many departments are simply enduring the hard times.
"There's no alternative except to prioritize what your services are going to be," said Chief Arthur O'Keefe of Englewood, who said his department cut its drug abuse resistance education program, reduced its juvenile bureau and often takes officers off patrol to work municipal court security. "You end up robbing Peter to pay Paul."
And Hackensack's police department is among the few who claim not to have suffered any major cutbacks. "We are still authorized to have 114 officers," said Capt. Tomas Padilla. "We haven't had layoffs that other departments have seen."
That does not represent the experience of most departments statewide, said William Dressel of the New Jersey League of Municipalities.
"In the past two years, mayors and governing bodies have made some hard choices," he said. "It's not a matter of whether you have to reduce personnel, it's who is going to be reduced and what services you may have to eliminate."
Mitchell C. Sklar, executive director of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, added, "Police chiefs throughout the state are being as creative and proactive as they can to cope with the severe fiscal restraints they are forced to deal with today.
"But in the final analysis, there is only so much that can be done," he said. "All the innovation in the world cannot put more boots on the ground. Sometimes the choice is not doing 'more with less,' but trying to maintain the status quo with less, or even doing less with less."
Ramsey/Cresskill
Police Chief Bryan Gurney of Ramsey, who is also president of the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association, said it pays to closely examine the budget. He said his department is generating significant savings, for example, by not calibrating its squad cars as often and by purchasing ammunition and other supplies cooperatively with other municipalities. Cresskill Chief Edward Wrixon said he saved nearly 40 percent on janitorial services by shopping around for a better deal.
Wayne
After losing four officers last year and five this year, Chief John Reardon is trying to deal with the shortage in manpower by rearranging patrol squads to avoid overtime. The department is also having detectives drive around in hybrid vehicles to save money on gas.
The biggest money saver, Reardon said, is a new software program that allows police reports to be filed electronically.
"Now officers can type up the reports in their cars, send them to their supervisors for approval and then to our record department. Tens of thousands of pieces of paper will be saved," said Reardon, who doesn't yet have a savings estimate.
Demarest
Chief James Powderly uses six special police officers who work part time for $16 per hour — 71 percent less than the average police officer's salary of $55 per hour. The special officers are assigned to work at the desk to handle the walk-in traffic. But if an emergency arises, they can be dispatched to assist in the field, he said.
Lately, as the department has suffered from staffing shortages, he has also called on neighboring towns to help supplement services. "For example, when we were paving our roadways, we called our neighboring town for assistance," he said.
Saddle Brook
Chief Robert Kugler said he deals with a manpower shortage by moving around shifts so that captains and detectives are often placed on a patrol rotation and civilians are used for dispatching.
"When there's not enough people there, you have to take people from other areas," he said. "Our basic mission is to have patrol and security and answer patrol so that we can protect our community."
Emerson
Chief Donald Rossi switched the shooting range where his officers conduct their qualification exams because he found one that charges less.
"We're all working on shoestrings," he said. "Everybody's under the gun."
Emerson has also moved to a different style shotgun that uses a less expensive cartridge.
By discontinuing the more expensive gun, the department will require only one qualification a year, instead of two, and less expensive ammunition, Rossi said, adding that it saves several thousand dollars a year.
"In this department," he said, "we understand the reality of the economic problem."
SIDEBAR: Budget Policing
Towns across North Jersey are finding different ways to save money without cutting police services. Here are some examples:
Clifton: Switching schedules to avoid overtime
Wayne: Uses hybrid vehicles to save gas and software to save on paper
Ramsey: Buys ammunition in bulk with other towns
Cresskill: Shopped around for cheaper janitorial services
Demarest: Hired six "special" officers to staff the desks at $16 per hour
Saddle Brook: Rotates staffing to save on manpower
Emerson: Using cheaper shotguns and ammunition
Mahwah: Planning a fashion show to raise money
Harrington Park: Switching schedules to avoid overtime