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Warning signs
In a perfect world, all towns and counties considering con-
solidation would interface with the PBA in an attempt attempt
to commit to what Sweeney intimated is always a working ob-
jective in Gloucester: Officers who have been on the job long
before elected officials took office should be there a long time
after.
Of course, there are other warning signs that consolidation
might be on the agenda. Two-percent cap issues can become
exacerbated when a department struggles with the overtime
budget due to manpower shortages. The cost of hiring and
training in towns that don’t pay commensurate with market
value also can create persistent budget strains.
And then there’s the pain that comes throughout the check-
erboard makeup of New Jersey. Ciattarelli emphasized that one
of the drivers in the Somerset study stemmed from having 19
chiefs with 19 different direct reports. “Every one of the 19 de-
partments is doing the best job given its resources, but there
is a lot of disparity in service,” he adds. “There may be a more
efficient law enforcement structure.”
If any or all of the above seems to be coming down the pike,
what is a Local to do? Sometimes, a municipality might be in
such a rush to pursue consolidation that it neglects to involve
the PBA at the Local or state level. And some towns might even
resort to the sneak attack of putting discussion on an agenda
for a council meeting at the last minute, leaving a PBA Local no
chance to respond, let alone prepare.
“Funding government is getting expensive,
but at the end of the day you don’t want to
sacrifice service, because a strong police
d