Bernards to Discuss Response to County PD Plan

said Sunday that within the next week, they expect to consider a Somerset County task force report asking if municipalities want to join a consolidated police force that would merge all the Somerset Hills towns into one police "precinct" within a larger county department.

Mayor Mary Pavlini said she understands that municipalities will have complete discretion about whether to go along with the proposal,

The mayor said a representative, Township Committeeman John Malay and Bruce McArthur had attended last Thursday's report on the consolidated county police force report. Those officials likely will report back to the entire Township Committee on April 24, Pavlini said.

Bernards Township, with close to 40 officers, now maintains one of the 19 separate police departments within Somerset County. Police Chief Brian Bobowicz said Monday that he has not yet had an opportunity to review the report, but he has been asked by the Township Committee to prepare a review, to be submitted to the committee by the beginning of summer.

The chief said the Township Committee has the ultimate deciding power over whether Bernards Township would pursue the proposal.

Municipalities have until Aug. 1 to decide whether they would be interested in pursuing a countywide police force, County Freeholder Mark Caliguire said last Thursday. The feasibility study concluded that a consolidated police department would save county taxpayers $44 million over the next 10 years.

Township Committeeman John Carpenter, the township's police commissioner, agreed with Pavlini that the township has complete discretion over whether to go along with the proposal.

Carpenter said officials will fully explore the proposal and "make an informed decision."

But he said his own initial impression is that Bernards Township would gain little from the arrangement.

Bernards has one of the lowest per capita crime rates in Somerset County, as well as one of the lowest costs per officer in the county, Carpenter said on Sunday evening.

"I don't know that we are going to do better than that in any arrangement," Carpenter said. He added that his own belief is that local government is the more cost effective and responsive in providing a service like policing to the community.

With a countywide force, he said, the township could be ceding authority for deciding how many police should be out on local streets, and when.

"I have a lot of reservations," Carpenter said, although he added that township discussions have yet to held on the task force.

Prior to Bobowicz's response on Monday, Township Police Capt. Edward Byrnes said he had attended Thursday's regional policing presentation.

"It was obvious the Prosecutor’s Task Force on Regional Policing put a great deal of time and effort into the project and should be commended for their efforts," Byrnes said in an email last Friday.

Byrnes noted that Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano had said it is now up to the county’s municipalities to determine "if a regional police model makes sense for each of them.

"As we did not have access to the final report until the conclusion of [Thursday's] presentation, it will take some time for the Bernards Township stakeholders to work through and analyze the 200-page report before reaching any conclusions regarding a regional police force," Byrnes said.

Bobowicz added he had been part of the process for prepating the study, since he had been a member of facilities committee for the task force.

Bernardsville police chief reserves response 

Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine said he had just seen the report as of Friday, and was not yet ready to comment at that time. 

If municipalities indicate their interest, a transition team will be created  under the leadership of Dr. Richard Celeste, director of the Somerset County Police Academy.

Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R- 16th district) who sparked interest in the consolidation study in 2010 during his term as freeholder, said the savings for a consolidated police force could range up to $100 million over the next decade.

Ciattarelli emphasized however that municipalities should consider not only the quantitative aspects of a possible consolidation, but also the “qualitative” aspects.

“We’re going to take 19 great departments and do everything better,” the assemblyman said, adding that looking at consolidation “strictly from a quantitative analysis is a disservice.”

According to the report, savings for Somerset County municipalities over a 10-year period range from $338,770 in Peapack-Gladstone to $8.6 million in Franklin. Savings for other towns include Far Hills, $526,513; Bedminster, $804,983; Bernardsville, $983,417; Warren, $1.3 million; Bernards, $1.4 million; Green Brook, $1.6 million; Watchung, $2.5 million; Hillsborough, $3.7 million and Bridgewater, $4.4 million.

The county now has 19 police departments with 594 officers. The feasibility study found that the “optimal” number of police officers is 606 with 62 civilian employees, 50 less than present. Savings will be realized by reducing the number of superior officers by 43 through attrition so that the ratio of superior officers to patrol officers is increased. The study also forsees more patrol officers, meaning “more boots on the ground,” said Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano, chairman of the task force that authored the study. No officers would lose their jobs, he said.

The countywide police department would be divided into five precincts, including as precinct 1: Bedminster, Bernards, Bernardsville, Peapack-Gladstone and Far Hills (46,311 residents, 5.35 crimes per 1,000 residents).