Post by novillero on Jul 16, 2008 9:10:57 GMT -5
I was going to post this on the budget cutting thread, but figured to try to put this on a new thread. Obviously, shared services are another way of budget cuts.
Report will provide sharing suggestions
Police pondering merged services
By Larry Higgs • COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU • July 16, 2008
A full report on the first phase of a proposed merger of police departments serving Fair Haven, Little Silver and Rumson probably won't become public until sometime in August, a date that depends on holding two more public meetings about initial recommendations.
Meetings in Fair Haven and Rumson still have to be scheduled after last week's meeting in Little Silver, where an executive summary on Phase 1 was reviewed. The three towns embarked on the study in 2007 with a $25,000 state grant.
There could be requests for additional study of issues raised at those meetings, said Brian J. Valentino, president of Patriot Consulting Group Inc., which was hired to do the study.
"The towns are trying to come up with dates and are checking with me," Valentino said. "The meeting we had last week was the first of a series of meetings happening in the three towns and as a group."
If borough officials don't ask for further study of any issues brought up at those meetings, Valentino said he can start putting finishing touches on the draft. But based on past experience, that isn't likely to happen, he said.
"(Rumson) Mayor (John) Ekdahl said he hopes we do it before the end of August. That's not a problem if we get other meeting dates from the other towns," Valentino said.
The Phase 1 executive summary recommends that police departments begin sharing certain services such as dispatching, communications, information technology, detectives, traffic and juvenile officers. Members of the Two Rivers Shared Services Committee, which is shepherding the study, said that any of those shared-services recommendations could be undone.
"Phase 1 is really baby steps, you can always turn things back on Phase 1," Ekdahl said. "If we have some success in improving service to residents and saving money, then we can move forward and discuss regionalization, which is a Phase 2."
The summary stops short of recommending full "regionalization" and says that the effects of sharing services would have be evaluated first.
"This is a feasibility study, not an implementation study," Valentino said.
First, the three departments need to change to the same system for collecting call data, which would allow easier comparisons.
"One stumbling block is that towns report call data in different fashions," Ekdahl said. "One goal is to get all three towns on the same reporting system so we can analyze what savings are possible if we go to a potential Phase 2."
Some of the recommendations, such as merging dispatching services, have been discussed on and off since 1995, said Mayor Michael Halfacre of Fair Haven.
"The report isn't earth-shattering. It says things like we need to combine computer communications so that we're on same radio frequency. To me, it's a no-brainer," Halfacre said. "It's not something we can just jump into. This report does a nice job of laying a framework to do it incrementally to share things . . . common sense things."
However, recommendations such as combining detectives, traffic and juvenile officers drew opposition from police chiefs.
"The chiefs of police, as a group, do not support the sharing of detectives, traffic or youth-aid functions," the report said.
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association officials said that one officer in each department is officially designated as a detective, traffic safety or juvenile officer, meaning two towns could lose officers who handle that work. PBA officials said they haven't gotten much information so far.
"We have to look at it and see what it says," said Kevin Gaynor, of Rumson PBA 345. "We have been pretty much in the dark."
Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon Jr., who promoted the study when he was Little Silver Borough Council president, said the main goal remains to improve service and lower taxes.
"What we're talking about here is a very measured approach. Nothing we're doing here can't be undone," said O'Scanlon, R-Monmouth, who remains a shared-services committee member. "The prime directive is to deliver better service and to deploy assets in the field through better, smarter management."
The fact that a merger is being studied is not a criticism of any of the three police departments, he said.
Report will provide sharing suggestions
Police pondering merged services
By Larry Higgs • COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU • July 16, 2008
A full report on the first phase of a proposed merger of police departments serving Fair Haven, Little Silver and Rumson probably won't become public until sometime in August, a date that depends on holding two more public meetings about initial recommendations.
Meetings in Fair Haven and Rumson still have to be scheduled after last week's meeting in Little Silver, where an executive summary on Phase 1 was reviewed. The three towns embarked on the study in 2007 with a $25,000 state grant.
There could be requests for additional study of issues raised at those meetings, said Brian J. Valentino, president of Patriot Consulting Group Inc., which was hired to do the study.
"The towns are trying to come up with dates and are checking with me," Valentino said. "The meeting we had last week was the first of a series of meetings happening in the three towns and as a group."
If borough officials don't ask for further study of any issues brought up at those meetings, Valentino said he can start putting finishing touches on the draft. But based on past experience, that isn't likely to happen, he said.
"(Rumson) Mayor (John) Ekdahl said he hopes we do it before the end of August. That's not a problem if we get other meeting dates from the other towns," Valentino said.
The Phase 1 executive summary recommends that police departments begin sharing certain services such as dispatching, communications, information technology, detectives, traffic and juvenile officers. Members of the Two Rivers Shared Services Committee, which is shepherding the study, said that any of those shared-services recommendations could be undone.
"Phase 1 is really baby steps, you can always turn things back on Phase 1," Ekdahl said. "If we have some success in improving service to residents and saving money, then we can move forward and discuss regionalization, which is a Phase 2."
The summary stops short of recommending full "regionalization" and says that the effects of sharing services would have be evaluated first.
"This is a feasibility study, not an implementation study," Valentino said.
First, the three departments need to change to the same system for collecting call data, which would allow easier comparisons.
"One stumbling block is that towns report call data in different fashions," Ekdahl said. "One goal is to get all three towns on the same reporting system so we can analyze what savings are possible if we go to a potential Phase 2."
Some of the recommendations, such as merging dispatching services, have been discussed on and off since 1995, said Mayor Michael Halfacre of Fair Haven.
"The report isn't earth-shattering. It says things like we need to combine computer communications so that we're on same radio frequency. To me, it's a no-brainer," Halfacre said. "It's not something we can just jump into. This report does a nice job of laying a framework to do it incrementally to share things . . . common sense things."
However, recommendations such as combining detectives, traffic and juvenile officers drew opposition from police chiefs.
"The chiefs of police, as a group, do not support the sharing of detectives, traffic or youth-aid functions," the report said.
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association officials said that one officer in each department is officially designated as a detective, traffic safety or juvenile officer, meaning two towns could lose officers who handle that work. PBA officials said they haven't gotten much information so far.
"We have to look at it and see what it says," said Kevin Gaynor, of Rumson PBA 345. "We have been pretty much in the dark."
Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon Jr., who promoted the study when he was Little Silver Borough Council president, said the main goal remains to improve service and lower taxes.
"What we're talking about here is a very measured approach. Nothing we're doing here can't be undone," said O'Scanlon, R-Monmouth, who remains a shared-services committee member. "The prime directive is to deliver better service and to deploy assets in the field through better, smarter management."
The fact that a merger is being studied is not a criticism of any of the three police departments, he said.
