##VIDEO ID:NUUyCbHW0U8## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e you put the thing on I I did with input from sorry again with input from more more I don't the word is good evening everybody I apologize for being late um put this time doesn't have to be welcome to the October 23rd Township of long hill meeting uh we are opening up at 7:37 and I think I'll do it in the proper order this time would you read the statement of presiding officer in compliance with the open public meetings Act of New Jersey adequate notice of this meeting specifically the time date and public call and information were included the meeting that was electronically sent to the echo sentinol moreis Daily Record and posted on the township website the agenda and public handouts for this meeting can be viewed online at www.long Hill nj.gov a public common period will be held in the order is listed on the meeting agenda thank you Megan whatever everybody please rise and join me the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge of alance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Megan please take rooll committee V dorsy here committee woman rer Eline here committee men verza present Deputy Mayor lavender here mayor Pia uh present thank you Megan uh there's no there are no proclamations presentations this even evening so we're going to go right to item number five ordinance ordinance 555-2126 all right so I'm going to make a make a statement first and then we'll get into this uh there's been a couple of changes to the ordinance in in in in uh conversation with the committee uh so before we introduce it Jack will go over it but I'll read a statement first we want to update you on the important work the Town committee Township committee is undertaking regarding the future of the police department we are committed to ensuring transparency and accountability and as part of this process we are are actively moving forward with several key initiatives aimed at strengthening and enhancing the Department's operations these efforts include providing greater Clarity to the Department's organizational structure Career Development improving evaluation and accountability processes and reviewing the leadership roles tonight we are voting on a promotion ordinance as one of the key steps in advancing these initiatives our Focus remains on maintaining the safety and well-being of our community while supporting our police force with the resources and Clarity they need we value The public's trust and will continue to keep you informed throughout the process and that will begin this evening uh with this ordinance Jack I know the uh the public it was released a uh uh proposed uh ordinance and I I do apologize this one's on me I don't know if we if I gave uh Randy enough time to to work in conjunction uh with the police department so in the future I will make sure that I give enough time rather than Rush something uh onto the agenda so I apologize to Randy I apologize to the police department but that being said I'll let Jack give you the the edits that we uh agreed to for the ordinance yeah and these aren't even have not been agreed to yet so let's discuss them any revisions that you think are appropriate uh and I'm going specifically to paragraph 8 criteria for selection which currently reads all candidates who pass the psychological examination and background check shall submit to a written and oral examination administered by the New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association the township committee will then make a selection based on the results provided by the New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association utilizing the rule of three which means the top three candidates would be submitted to the township committee there there's been discussion to add the appropriate author to that process uh so here's some language for your consideration and I know you may want to change it I would make examinations plural just as a stylistic thing um and then I would insert there formulated in consultation with the appropriate Authority and administered by the New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association and I know mayor you had some question about consultation you wanted a stronger term I look to the town committee for your what paragraph is that Jack paragraph 8 right before section two oh okay so the conversation I had with Jack is it maybe it should be invol I don't know what the word is but I I would like it to be stronger well everybody was fine with the original language last week and this another bait and switch and I'm voting no on that whatever introductions of ordinances always involve changes so uh Scott no I think it makes sense I mean it it seems like it's a miss not to have it in there so I don't know what the word should be um Township Committee in collaboration with the appropriate author collab instead of consultation my original suggestion well actually consultation is is is better all right um okay word Smith your G orre sorry contemplating the right like I'm thinking in my head the right words you want Vic to go first sorry I was moving it because I kept hitting it with the papers you want to go next word smithing you can go next to I guess the threshold question is do you want to add the appropriate authority to the process uh you know two of you do and one doesn't so I think that's the threshold question and then you know refining the language so Jack you with with your knowledge of the state statute that outlines um the responsibilities of the appropriate Authority the wording of this ordinance as is does it contradict anything in the state statute with regard to the appropriate authorities role and responsibility before I give you an answer off the top of my head let me just the state statute says as used in this section appropriate Authority means the mayor manager or such other appropriate executive or administrative officer such as a full-time director of Public Safety or the governing body I'll skip down CU some of these established by ordinance for such purposes as shall be provided by ordinance in a manner consistent with the degree of separation of executive and administrative powers from the legislative powers provided for in the charter or form of government either adopted by the municipality or under which the governing body operates let me just look at our ordinance our ordinance does not specifically list duties of the appropriate Authority it designates the appropriate Authority and says in accordance with njsa 481 14118 the Township public safety director is hereby designated as the appropriate Authority okay and I think just for clarity Matt with all due respect uh unanimously this committee voted for uh the responsibilities and the authority of the public safety director multiple times and by uh Township committee that did not include uh committee woman uh riket Eline she was not here and and committee mon Ray at the time was not was conflicted so he could not vote on it so this committee multiple times voted on exactly what the role would be of the public safety director admittedly that has evolved because of the input that we have received and that we have worked uh collaboratively with the uh prosecutor's office his interpretation of the law is a little different than perhaps what we viewed initially so we've tried to amend uh the ordinance as we've gone along so 6 months ago the way the ordinance looked 6 months ago is not the way it's going to look going forward uh but the only reason for that is we we were trying to tweak it a bit but it's important to recognize the public it was unanimously voted on uh by committeeman uh dorsy uh Deputy Mayor lavender um commitmen Vic valza and and uh and me and at the time last year Matt you were uh mayor I no Scott you were mayor so this is a has been an evolution uh so I don't think it's unusual that we're still trying to tweak this as we go along so the words bait and switch I think are a little bit misleading it's different than it was when I read it on mik it's different it's different than when we voted on six months ago no no it's different we all agreed upon on last Wednesday when I was stuck here for another three and a half hours or four hours whatever Vic your Vic or or your turn I'm on with Matt The Way We it's not the way we agreed to in that you know in that three and a half hour acttion p committee it's not an ordinance back there it's an ordinance out here yes but I'm a no and the reason as I just stated it we we said one thing in the last meeting and I feel as if it's been you know in that three and a half hour uh action pack committee meeting back there and then now it appears honestly you have to give me I'm asking you for more substance why would we not include the appropriate Authority in this ordinance what's the reason ultimately the decision comes down to the town committee correct yes correct well you utilize it in the rule of three yes so correct top Cates because that takes the personal things out of it that but the involvement is the appropriate Authority working with the the police get results from the the chiefs of Police Association an oral test a written test it's very objective there's nobody there's no playing favorites they don't know anybody there but we're still going to end up with three of course and in theory the appropriate Authority would still weigh in because we'd have contact throughout the process all right so this is first reading um I'm looking for a motion is well one other well we have to Jack added another change based on something Jonathan said was a statutory so that'll be in there correct that's this is that a bait and switch to no no no that's a stat that's that's oh it's referencing the statute I don't no but my yeah what you're talking yeah that they it's from title 40 or something correct two or more candidates are ranked to the no he sent us an email tonight let me let me get that can I can I ask a question um going back to what Aubrey just said Jack if the appropriate Authority is not mentioned in here and with the reasonable assumption that the township Committee in making it decision would seek advice from the appropriate Authority is there anything in here which would legally prevent that from happening no and in fact I I suspect the chief's Association would consult with the appropriate Authority okay then I'm in agreement with Matt and Vic now here here's off my holiday card list right now here here's what Jonathan suggested in an email we received this evening uh and he was here earlier uh add to the selection criteria where two or more candidates are ranked equally pursuant to the promotional procedure set forth herein preference shall be given to the candidate with it the most seniority in service pursuant to njsa 4A colon 14y 129 or a resident over a non-resident pursuant to njsa 4A 14y 122.6mi be in effect in any event but in discussing this attach committee felt it would be better to put it in the code so people were aware of it uh so if you're agreeable to that then the ordinance as introduced tonight we'll have that additional language fine as amended we have another question to you don't have to amend it we're revising it so on introduction it will include that now my other question is I don't know we have enough officers here can answer the question I don't know if for somebody to get promoted to Sergeant what's the minimum time on to be be eligible to be a sergeant three years three years okay so in theory I could start today I could be a sergeant in three years and then if I do well on the chief say I could be a chief in six years which is then you're stuck with this person now for 22 24 years CU what you have to be 30 years now to get 65% in benefits 25 is it 25 or is it 30 now it's 25 okay well 25 but then in theory you're going to we could in theory not I'm not saying it's happening now but have somebody that's that's six years on duty to be the cheap of police which is probably not the best idea anywhere is that really enough time no that's my point I I agree so maybe if we add a minimum time as as a police officer in general like x amount of years law enforcement experience because otherwise I said six years well it's said yeah let me ask you a question to be fair I probably should the officer in charge if you don't mind on average what what has been the process and maybe it's not something we should be discussing in public for when an officer is hired to when they are in fact a sergeant are there any criteria for that level it used to be M sorry I'm sorry for putting you on the spot and this is not Personnel we can't have this is a general policy policy so for the public to understand my question to to officer in charge Cham bro is what's the timeline minimum for an officer who is hired to become sergeant and if or any other specific qualifications that are required to be eligible or to become Sergeant because that's that's to be elig eligible is three years that's it to be eligible I think is the right question is that eligible was five years but when the pool shrank to not having that many um people available it was lowered to three years okay and then you have to have your bachelor's degree okay to be eligible to in okay can I ask you I want to ask question cuz I think that 6 years would be you know not enough time to be ready to become a chief would you be in agreement with that for the most part or am I wrong do you think that in many situations six years might you know a candidate may be ready to become Chief or does that seem a little short to you so there's a variety of things that go into that because some people end up with Detective Bureau experience some people don't have that then you don't have the ability to know what goes on in the detective Bureau and is in essence be in charge of the department and know the detective bureau there's things that you might you know there's things that impact your experience overall to lend towards being a better Chief possibly so in general six years would you would agree would be a little short it may be okay I it may be that then um that requires a lot more training and you know exper expence wise I don't know what the when you look at other towns what their um criteria is for becoming a chief and thank you very much for that response I think to be fair the ordinance that we're discussing which would involve the state police Chiefs Association that probably kind of mitigates our concern well no it make them eligible this would even eliminate those people right off the back no I understand that but frankly if that's the person that through this Gauntlet that we're discussing tonight is the right person then they're the right person I would at Le microphone I I would say at least 10 years law enforcement experience I mean if they let's say they came in a different department and came and they had six years here okay but they might have had 10 years at the sheriff's department or 10 years to prosecut I don't know but remember that's not the township committee or I mean you're involving the chief's Association well I know that no I'm just saying is that's who's eligible once once they're eligible then assum as you're eligible anybody can take the test and if they H the test great but I just don't think somebody with six years law enforcement experience is ready to run an agency even if it had three members I I I I don't know uh again at feels a little short but I'm not a I'm not you know law enforcement isn't my specialty so that's why I'm asking yeah that's a great Point Vic and director peop is here May Mike can come up and help as well good evening so what's the exact question again is six years enough time to run an agency become six years enough time to be the head of an agency basically to Lieutenant chell's point I think it all uh depends on what the skills knowledge and abilities are of that particular candidate so are you saying that you believe in in certain instances there may be an exceptional individual that would be ready to be Chief in six years and six years would be okay crer a criteria leave it as it is going become a sergeant three years well currently the ordinance uh States uh since I didn't have an opportunity to review it here the ordinance States how many years the ordinance in other words because our concern is is we we feel as if six years may be an insufficient amount of time to be ready to become Chief and this is where you you know you guys know far better than we did so it looks like the ordinance uh States three years as a sergeant yes correct right well initially we had our policy was five years to be a sergeant and because the uh the pool of candidates was reduced we reduced the CATE um to be eligible as sergeant to three years so it seems to me if there was five years was the cut off for a sergeant up until a few years ago at it should be at least five years for um a commanding officer position so that would be 10 years of Total Service no five years well it would be be eight well you would have to be a sergeant for five years right right and and how long would you have to be an officer three years I mean we've never three years three years to be eligible but but but most sergeants aren't going to be appointed or promoted the sergeant on the anniversary no true third anniversary so an extreme example but it is a possibility but the minimum threshold that you're saying that is eight years three years as a officer five as a star I I think the recor peoples understands the question so maybe he can respond you said five the way I interpreted the um the ordinance reading it here is that the sergeant any Sergeant would be um eligible as long as they served three years as a sergeant serent that's right not three not an officer who's on three years because you have it that it's uh the eligibility requirements are lieutenant and sergeants yep worst case it would be six years the way it's written by by Jonathan that's that's correct so what I'm suggesting if it's three years for an officer to become Sergeant then it should be five years as as a sergeant well you can consider five years so timeline to your point point M becomes eight but I yeah yeah I mean I still want more but six years is way too short fair enough and you prefer 10 eight is a and I'll defer to to officer in charge T brell and and and director peoples that seems to be where we're settling on that seems reasonable I hear what you're saying Matt yeah no I understand you know and if there's if there's a the pool is too small at some point in the future the the same way the sergeant criteria was changed that sound reasonable director U can you repeat what the I'm saying if in the future the pool was too small as a result of that requirement the township committee could change it okay so what are you looking at for the eligibility requirements now no they're talking about changing it to 5 years as you suggested suggested but I'm saying that if in the future 5 years was made the pool too small they could always reach revisit it okay your decision they always have that option that's all I'm saying thank you thank you director and thank you officer in charge okay can we make that change so so you can introduce the ordinance tonight if if you wish uh changing the criteria from a minimum of three years as a sergeant to a minimum of 5 years as a sergeant with the result that it would be eight years as an officer police officer yeah and just quick question this verbiage though and I'm sorry I don't remember and I can look at my notes this was taken though from standard operating verbiage procedures it's not like we made it it was drafted by labor Council based on his experience and based on what we saw correct in the other just clarify that correct so Jack I want to Circle back to number eight again yes is there anything that precludes the township committee from Consulting beyond the appropriate authority to say like the administrator as a non- civil service town you have a great deal of discretion you could certainly do that and so does it make sense to have um a number nine that says something to the effect of nothing shall preclude the township committee from Consulting with additional individuals as long as they meet the the following criteria Etc such as Township administrator appropriate Authority public safety director well I I think you have that implied authority to consult with anyone in making your decisions we can do that any hiring no I know we've talked about things before in terms of making them more spec maybe we can make that we make a selection and consultation with the township administrator and the appropriate Authority based on the results provided by the right CU I I I I acknowledge Aubrey's Point ultimately we do have the final say on this but we don't want to leave anything off the table I I mean if if the T committee would like to add that language there's certainly nothing improper about it I would say yeah like the we could add the in consultation if needed like it doesn't have to be required but if needed I know I don't see why we need it because you can consult anybody on anything don't then don't don't worry all right a guy thck mat so so is there is there a consensus on the T committee to make that last sentence read the tounship committee in consultation with the tounship administrator and the appropriate Authority if needed will then make a selection based on the results provided by the New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association utilizing the rule of three yeah I don't think we need to put in writing because you're going to consult who we're going to consult with as Jack said we kind of ask anybody we want for that matter so I vote no Scott I I think it's fine I I think it adds Clarity Vic good Aubrey you're good saying like added in with the as needed as needed okay so so the ordinance then will the changes from the the published version that you're introducing tonight in paragraph one uh the Sergeant's minimum eligibility will be changed from three to 5 years paragraph 8 this the last sentence will read the T Committee in consultation with the administrator Township administrator and the appropriate Authority comma if needed comma will then make a selection based on the results provided by the New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association utilizing the rule of three and it will also have the language uh Incorporated in the two State statutes that I read from Jonathan's email earlier Jonathan is the labor Council for those who for the specifics in terms of Township administrator and Township um appropriate Authority and all that I would say one of the versions that we said here didn't have that in there would consult with other parties as needed or is that too generic well you voted down that other the earlier well we haven't voted yet so specifically your question I would say just um neutralize it that we can consult with other parties if needed as needed like keeping it a little bit more generic uh since you br brought it up I would just to be clear I still think that should say the appropriate Authority whoever that appropriate Authority is at that time my prefer that's my preference but I think I lost that back to the origin right well that's what I'm saying like by adding this back in we're back to what we voted you're changing it to the earlier one was the formulation of the questions to the final decision Scott you were fine with removing appropriate authority too I thought right we just voted we just put back in so yeah but it's a different it's a different we're talk the other one was formulate uh the written and oral examinations in consultation this one is the T committee will make a selection in consultation at at their discretion or whatever you said you qualified it so needed was right was OB langine which was fine yeah or whatever the legal way of saying that is I I think if you want to consult with other people you certainly can but I I think we just put to in consultation with the administrator and the I it makes a lot of sense because it covers the two roles in between the department and the committee and the committee it covers the whole chain and then but it also that chain so would clear the chain is committee administrator appropriate Authority Department right is that the consensus it appears so and I I know um I'm good at math for four beats once so I don't I just think it does it's the same thing as the other one just in a different spot right well it's a different role no it's it's loosened up a little bit yeah it's a different role it it's it's making the final selection you're you're Consulting with the appropriate Authority and the administrator as opposed to the Chiefs Consulting with them for the process and oral examination yeah okay now I mean auy if you've got a concern yeah I just think it's the same thing but a little different it's it a different point in the process I know it's a different point in the process but it's the same thing like the so if we Define if we Define what's different what's different is the conditional that's added right like if we're saying okay not for the the examination but then we are saying for the final decision I get it and I also think it's what we kind of said before in a different spot no it's no it's not it's not because what we're saying here as needed which puts it at the discretion of the township committee whereas before the way it read it looked like uh there wasn't that condition I bet if we change if needed to the tent Committee in its discretion yeah same thing at as needed or its discretion and understand the fact that it's in a different part of the process is significantly different because the the process to to come up with the rule of three those three names there are more names involved in that initial process so it is different yes well by the time it reaches us it's it's a different number and to be fair part of the part of the things we're trying thing we're trying to address is this committee is not qualified uh to look at which is why we neutralized which is why we neutralized the process and brought it into a standard operating procedure that's pretty normal across police departments and and Rule of three is a civil service correct well that's why push to have it in there to neutralize it 100% 100% so I prefer I like the discretion language in there so if let me read it now criteria for selection all candidates who pass the psychological examination and background check shall submit to a written two I think it should be written andoral examinations uh administered by the New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association the T committee in its sole discretion or will in consultation with the appropriate Authority in the township administrator in its sole discretion we then make a selection based on the results provided by the chief's Association utilizing the rule of three and then we've added the statutory language as suggested by labor Council all right just a timing question do we get the rule of three before the consultation takes place no or we get the three and then three and and your selection process will be in consultation with administrator and the appropriate author not okay F all right thank you Jack all right so if that's the case that's the way you're you don't need to take any vote because it's being introduced with that language we're not amending it it's never been introduced and I think it's a fair question to ask in years past when when uh a police chief in Long Hill Township was chosen it was done similarly where it went to the township committee and the township committee made the final selection that's correct it was more informal did it involve yeah it did I'm I'm thinking back on it but I get your point it was in consultation as at the discretion of the township commit so it really hasn't changed Aubry that that final leg of the process yeah I mean you're the ultimate decision makers fair enough but with uh expert input from in this case we've added the police Chiefs Association if he feels needed exactly fair enough you ready for a motion I am I'll make a motion that we make the changes that Jack has led us through which include the 5-year stipulation on being a sergeant the changes as um explained for number eight having to do with um the township committee's discretion as well as the statutory additions to number eight did I get them all that's it okay that's my motion looking for a second V or second and and before you say anything or keep in mind this is first reading things can change between now and second reading and passage and even when an ordinance is passed it can be amended if for whatever reason we left something out or something needs to be added this is not these are not the Ten Commandments and there will be a public hearing on second reading thank you okay we're still waiting for uh vote has Comm no we have VI made a second I apologize I sorry Vick I cut you off yes move on to Second reading yes now now a roll call vote so committee mandor is a yes committee woman rer in line yep committee man verza yes Deputy Mayor lavender yes mayor Pia yes thank you very much and what it will be second reading November 6th November 6th thank you Megan all right next up ordinance 55 624 first reading introduction amending salaries and wages ordinance Randy I think this is your gig yeah this is amending uh a couple titles within the township um mostly on the maximum side but uh in what case on the minimum side also to uh hopefully um cover the next couple years of uh salary increases um actually uh I stand correct there were two two minimums that were changed and this is this would be uh this sets the ranges it does not set the actual salaries thank you it's pretty straightforward we do this quite often when we have to make certainly some adjustments certainly okay any questions for Randy or comments for Randy yeah I have one so Randy these are Market driven changes uh for the most part yes and um can you explain to the public the process that you went through to determine these well we do salary surveys every once in a while with uh other towns um we uh I accumulated um various towns and what they're paying each of the uh titles along with um information other information and we take the rule of throwing out the b the lowest and highest come up with an average um and see how we far based on years of experience and and performance of those individuals thank you any other questions comments for Randy and and and to be clear uh to follow up on what Scott said Randy kindly did that survey this round at the uh direction of the township committee so we do appreciate you doing so now I guess I would look for a motion so moved second committee dorsy yes committee woman rer Eline yes committee man verza yes Deputy Mayor lavender yes mayor Pia yes thank you Megan all right so item number six I believe it's item number six right yes y all right item number six consent agenda resolutions any resolution that a member of the township committee would like to pull for further discussion or uh is conflicted out hearing none I'll look for a motion to approve resolutions numbers 24 through 265 24 271 so moved second committee mandori yes committee woman rer inine yes committee men valza yes Deputy Mayor lavender yes mayor Pia yes uh committee reports Vic all right I got a book here don't forget don't forget don't forget to mention the Yankees yeah all right the recreation report for October 23rd is as follows we have slide one this has been an amazing month up in the sky many thanks to Ed zindell of Myersville for sharing this photo of the Harvest Moon with us this weekend was our annual Halloween parade and mother nature could not have been Kinder we had a great crowd and we also had so many people to thank to the Long Hill CH thank you to the Long Hill Chamber of Commerce businesses thank you for making the event extra special and coming out to spend the afternoon with us the following businesses were in attendance Gary G anakis and Wert Realtors little people's playhouse sweet passion Cakery Millington Volunteer Fire Company Starstruck dance studio L Hill Auto Service Long Hill Education Foundation Burton company Barber Shop globo balloons and more I teach speaking the Gard the Gard School of long hill Long Hill Township Library Misty D photography thank you so much for working with Mary Myer and Gary gianakis to set up the photo booth this year this was a great idea and lots of family photos were taken with a fall background finally thank you to Hill Hill viw Farms for donating all the pumpkins cornstalks and hay bales all families that attended went home with pumpkins especially special thanks to our judges mayor guy Pia committeeman Matt dorsy Victoria and J Gianna verza Vicky Beloit from the Chamber of com uh Commerce edar from the Millington fire department Al Gallow from the Sterling fire department Sergeant John Roberts from The Long Hill Police Department Officer Dean Ray from The Long Hill Police Department and officer Dolores lenbach from the LGH Hill Police dep department and finally last but certainly not least Captain Bob English of the Long Hill first aid Squad thank you also to Alby Ashbrook for jumping into our witch wait hold on let me do that again thank you thank you to Alby Ashbrook for jumping in to be our witch just about the nicest witch you'll ever meet she led the kids into the parade and guided them so that they could put their best foot forward during the judging thank you to Girl Scouts of the senior troop 96 uh 291 for coming in ahead of the parade and stuffing all 500 goodie bags for us thank you to the Girl Scouts Cadet troop 7731 for coming to the parade and helping to pass out goodie bags on the field and help with the refreshments thank you to Karen nist for coming out and helping on the refreshments thank you to lmb audio Services Larry pazinski and Ernie ler for providing the sound at the event and to the Long Hill TV for coming out and taping the event for Long Hill television finally thank you to our wonderful Recreation advisory committee for all of their help uh to set up the event we can't do these events Without You special thank you to Charles A orowitz for the beautiful pictures from the day we will be sharing these photos on the website soon uh and we will also have a link to the Long Hill Township video Thursday night adult basketball started last week and continues until the beginning of May there's still time to register to get together with your neighbors and for some recreational play Saturday recreational basketball program registation registration is open now until November 1st please go on to community pass to register and tonight we are finishing up with the tryouts for the travel basketball team teams practices will begin next week and games start the first week of December with all the magical Skies of late we are happy to announce our next photography contest a look at the sky entry free uh entry is free for Long Hill residents and the contest runs through January 15th more information is available at our website this Saturday Saturday the Long Hill first first aid Squad will host their annual Trunk or Treat event in the town hall parking lot with over 20 decorated trunks this event promises to be a lot of fun come with your costume and uh well come with your costume on and your sweet tooth to be satisfied Saturday 10:26 from 1:30 p.m. till 3:30 p.m. who else is going to be there I think we're going to be there we are going to be there we'll see you there all right moving on to slide number seven just an update after our pre- last meeting for to help controlling the garbage and Equipment issues in the park at our recreational meeting on 10:15 we discussed this issue again we did see a noticeable difference since our initial emails in trying to address this problem we agreed to table the topic and keep watching the issues we will talk about it again at our next meeting in November Oscar the Grouch was pleas pleased with the progress all right all right we are concerned with the amount of kids riding their bicycles and electric scooters in the parking lots and scooting back and forth between the park to the Valley Mall businesses all so let me rephrase that scooting back and forth from the park to the valley Hall businesses we are worried that there is going to be a collision in the parking lots as the kids are darting in and out not really not realizing the dangers the parks and recreation department has asked the police department for help with this in providing some education and Direction officer in charge at Lieutenant chambero provided the following slide which delineates the laws for wearing helmets something that I am not sure everyone is aware of on the lowspeed electric scooters and on the low speed electric bicycles anyone under the age of 17 is required to wear a helmet un motorized Bic IES everyone is required to wear a helmet finally the recreational advisory committee is always looking for more members when we run our events especially we are always need of in need of lots of hands if you're interested in having some fun with us please contact us and we will get you on the path all right and that concludes my lengthy recreational thank you everybody committeeman vza that was outstanding uh committee woman raet Eline you have a tough act the file right batter up I must have stuttered six times there I didn't do that good I didn't do that well all right Library update let's go the Long Hill Township libraryies open seven days a week including 1 to five on Sunday that's exciting next slide perfect thank you the library's weekly schedules of programs and events there's one for kids and there is one for adults as well on the website so exciting there's lots of good stuff going on Library offers daily programs for children story times in the morning and crafts and science projects in the afternoon this week we have an art class for adults on Thursday make a gift bag out of recycled paper exciting lots of options all right Slide Five also on Thursday an evening talk by the art historian Jay shuck all about the art of Leonardo da Vinci via Zoom Zoom call the library to register that's exciting we have a guitar concert this Sunday the entire Community is welcome to enjoy the music and use the library this Sunday yay it's from 3: to 400 p.m. the friends of the library are hosting two fundraising events for us a holiday market with local Artisans selling arts and crafts and a shreddit event the Holiday Market will run from Friday November 8th to Sunday November 10th and the shredded event will be on Saturday November 9th in the parking lot so both are excited check the website always cuz it's always being updated with new things that was it that was it sorry was right that's what I got in kidding a side I want to thank you because uh the library is such an integral part of this community uh and we really weren't G giving these updates and I appreciate you reaching out and a real shout out to the library director uh Alby who has done an unbelievable able job in the time I think she's been here about a year give or take uh sound s good stuff but anyway just just outstanding so thank you Matt oh uh first uh please keep recycling was nice to see we had a bunch of new towns joining our styrofoam recycling program so that's good to see that people are embracing it in other count other towns what what's the difference the renewing they're still doing it who cares it means it's working thank you Megan for interrupting my hearing uh next from the uh Board of Health covid booster clinics check the Bernard's uh Health Website for your updates next they will be doing a Sugar Savvy program the 14th from 6:00 to 7:00 at Bernard's Library um they're doing a live cooking demo with samples so if you can't get down to Costco come over here 6 to 7 on the 14th at burnard's library next the fire apartment this Saturday the first ever Halloween costume party 7:30 $30 up front 35 at the door for those you who are still standing after the Halloween party we'll be having a uh meet and greet the new fire truck um at the Sterling Hotel on Satur Sunday from 1: to 4:00 Sunday afterno at the hotel in the beer garden it's open to all the members of the community uh come down meet the fire discuss the programs they have the kids are free to get on the truck take some pictures of course they'll have a live band at the same time Lily's closet and they're starting going on at 2 o'clock so from 1: to 4: come down and meet the firemen and women as well as uh meet the new truck is that my announcement yep oh and from uh what's this the uh Watchung Municipal Alliance whose uh purpose is to support local communities events uh they just did a 5K and watchong a couple weeks ago they the Project Graduation they are uh pre previewing or viewing a movie on October 28th at 700 p.m. uh the website's there it's called the upstanders I believe it's about bullying and resilience so take a look if you're interested in those topics thank you oh and the fire department for both fire dep 272 calls to date that's almost one or maybe even more than one a day so uh thank you ladies and gentlemen for answering all those calls it's very active thank you Matt thank you sir Scott yeah okay just this um you know you may have uh noticed that in resolution 24 uh 268 we accepted the res the resignation of Frank Riley from the historic preservation advisory committee um Frank was greatly loved uh is greatly loved by the hpack committee they're sorry to see him go uh but we just want to forward out our um our respect and thanks to Frank for all the work that he's done on hpac and uh to take care that's it thank you Scott um let's have the administrator report I have the uh Public Works monthly report for October 20 2024 uh Public Works did a removal and pruning of many trees while also planting nine trees for the challenge Grant um to uh committee M dorsy uh report they did 5 days of Styrofoam processing they had fall flow was planting on Main caner Town Hall they did uh townwide street sweeping uh that produced 62 tons of sweeping collections that were transported to the recycling center Morris County Recycling Center uh they did um various stump grinding where the uh dead trees were removed and as always uh mowing along Township roads Township owned properties they did crack sealing of Township roads and catch BAS and repairs couple announcements uh fall DPW hours for Saturdays are 800 a.m. until 100 p.m. till December 7th um the public works is in need of used motor oil so if you're changing your oil keep the Public Works uh in mind please do not uh put any water in with the uh used oil uh but they use it for recycling and heating in one of the garages uh they also want a remind you of the food compost drop off at DPW and one of their newer recycling is K cup recycling at the DPW in the lobby Li Lobby pardon me um the police report for September 2024 they had calls of ser calls for service 1,996 for a total year to date of 18,000 67 626 there were um approximately uh 12 to 15 motor vehicle accidents during during the month we had um added couple days of training we had uh let me see 14 days 14 more days of training in 2000 in I'm sorry in September uh for various uh subject matters and we named a new new human Humane law enforcement officer also called the H uh we refer to it as Hilo but it's hleo um officer Joe Napolitano is he here tonight I thought he was here tonight um so congratulations on that he he uh deals with all kinds of uh um Humane laws Animal Humane laws um we have um we're in the process of hiring several new officers and going through that process and probably we'll have them on towards the end of the year or beginning of um 2025 that's all I have mayor right now thank thank you Randy I appreciate it um so now uh item number nine uh discussion parking permits it seems we do this every year Megan we do well there you go uh are you going to give us the update of where we are and what we might be uh considering or are you going to you give me a dirty look so I should probably know this myself no no for some reason my my computer is not connecting with my desktop over there so I had um the yearly parking permits versus the uh daily parking permits but I don't have that information on my hand now all right so what what do we considering the possibility of keeping them the same uh yeah so so um we we are allowed to sell I believe it's 140 it's in the resolution uh 150 parking permits for Millington 65 for Sterling and 140 for Gillette um we did not sell out within the last four years since Co um we have been amping up a lot with our daily parking permits and you guys have allowed Park Mobile to come in we should be getting that up and running by the end of this year and we'd be able to take some of the um the the yearly parking passes that we don't sell and use them with Park Mobile so Park Mobile will only be at Millington it'll be at all three we're getting rid of the Standalone machine at Millington it will be in all three locations excellent I used par mobile the last few days and I'll use it again tomorrow morning works wonderfully there you go so I I I mean the idea is that do we have any reason to change the the rates or we're comfortable with what they are maybe that would be more for the township committee um has anything changed in the last year will we need to approve that today okay there you go going 240 Sterling 290 Gillette 340 and then there's a half year $5 daily all right so I'll read them out a little so thank Randy by the way so the Millington trade station yearly is 240 after July 1 120 Sterling is 290 after July 1 145 Gillette uh station is 340 uh and after July 1 170 the daily parking is $5 currently and proposed is to keep it at $55 even when Park Mobile comes in Park mobile correct me if I'm wrong there's no charge they come in uh for for for the town we don't pay them correct we don't we don't pay them anything there is an 85 cents convenience fee for the credit cards but they will be saving because right now they're paying a $3 convenience fee using sdl what a hack I did not know that if they come in and pay in person then for even even for the daily for the daily if they come in and pay at the clerk's office then it's just $5 but if they use the app remind me can you buy the daily in advance it has to be day of uh you can you have to buy it in advance because we have to approve it on our end send an email to the police officer so was and is it just okay when you do that can you do it for two weeks from today right so in chat them unless they changed it the inconvenience there is they don't sell them until but they do sell out right until like 10: or 11: in the morning so which point it doesn't really helpful So Long Hill is much more responsive to the needs of its community at least as regards parking um any questions comments yeah so just to be clear so no change from 2024 so we're keeping commuter costs flat year to year yes and all of the costs that we collect with this have to be invested back into the parking lots of the train stations and this Park Mobile this changes the process for doing daily correct and it's easier now correct will be it will be easier will be okay all right so there's all goodness in here I try so there's no surprise they'll be like a five like a zip code uh for what that is you plug it in yep you you can have your credit card on duty when on duty on online you click done done it takes and 10 seconds with Park Mobile like if you decide you want to go travel into the city right now and leave in an hour can you get a space that way yes yeah so you go to the train station and you can um put in the code that they have prior to showing up and seeing how many available spots there are um we'll go with supply and demand based off of how many yearly parking passes we have and then you could just go to the train station put it in so it's much easier because you don't have to wait for all this we have to wait for us to accept it and then us to send the payment request and then okay so it's same price as 2024 and it's far easier for the daily commuters what's not the like can I make a motion to do this resolution I second it you go and Megan you you have to take a Voice vote right y committee man dorsy yes committee woman Rik Eline yes committee man valza yes Deputy Mayor lavender yes mayor Pia yes and Megan thank you for the work you did on us okay uh old new business legal fees employees should not be calling Township lawyers if you have an legal issue call your own lawyer they should this is getting out of hand um if there's an issue they can hire a lawyer call somebody else but employees should not be directly contacting the township legal Representatives they don't represent me they don't represent Megan they don't represent R they represent the town not individual people so there's got to be some procedure in place I want refunds paid or something because this is getting ridiculous thank you anybody else that goes for us too meaning us committee members too we shouldn't be just running up Bills running the lawyer every time they have a stupid question I love when clients call me it's great it's found money but sometimes we don't need to and a lot of times it's just I don't know what's going on but I see these bills and they're crazy and it's got to stop thank you Scott anybody good is there official messaging or procedure protocol or verbage that we should issue contact Randy to reiterate contact Randy everybody should be going through the administration yep okay all righty so announcements I know we've already said several of these but let's do it again except the The Long Hill first aid Squad Trunk or Treat October 26 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. right here in the lot behind us and as Vic mentioned due to encouragement from committee woman riken Eline gently uh when she threatened us we will be there as Township committee we will have a trunk with lots of chocolate Sterling Fire Company Halloween party October 26 7:30 as Matt already mentioned there is a fee what what was it again Matt $30 in advance 35 at the door thank you uh Sterling Fire Company eat and greet October 27th on Sunday 1: to 4: p.m. um at the hotel I think at the was that at the hotel and I think the township committee uh at least several of us will in fact be there the friends of the library shredded Day November 9th 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. that is a fundraiser for the library uh the friends of the library do remarkable work uh so please go into your basement find all the papers that you have accumulated over well in my case over the last 25 years and uh bring them there and shred them okay item number 12 meeting open to the public remarks and statements pertaining to any matter uh if you could out of respect uh for your uh residents who are with you comments and remarks please try to limit them to three minutes you miss no good evening everyone good evening Frank Liber FR uh Heritage Road mingon uh just a couple of quick points tonight um I see we have the officer in charge and at the public safety director here and I appreciate uh uh administrator bar giving us a little police report as far as stats and things for the month of September um are we going to get to a point where um we might get an update from the public safety director on where he's at with progress with the stuff he's working on um separate from you working on I guess defined roles at the prosecutor's office because I assume that's still not completely hammered out yet is that my correct take on that let me respond this way fairness to the public safety director um I think Clarity was needed from this committee I think we have uh we're moving in in in that direction uh as far as your comment about the prosecutor's office we are working uh collaborative collaboratively with them uh despite some comments uh we have a a working relationship with them and uh yeah I mean I'm not trying to beat a dead horse tell you know look especially when when it comes to matters of the law and we have several lawyers up here uh that's why there is a legal profession the interpretation of law isn't always the same and sometimes it gets a little uh feisty and you just try to Fig find common ground and I I think we're we're close so I guess I guess what the follow-up question to that is so thank you for explaining that is I I know he's been here at least maybe six months so has his role been kind of limited until you can get that ironed out as far as his duties since you don't have that I don't know if we have consensus on that my response to that is absolutely the the back and forth between the prosecutor's office and us because we thought we were you know it never crossed our mind that there would be an an objection from the prosecutor's office when it came it it it muddied the waters a a bit and that's not the fault of officer in charge T Bello it's not the uh fault of uh direct the peoples and frankly it's not the the fault of the people sitting up here or our labor Council um you know our original stance was we were on solid legal ground um and that was the advice of the council that the town has the labor Council correct but in a in a spirit of Comedy that's with the t uh we've worked towards common ground and I think we may be close to a full understanding I mean that's you know obviously the goal and if you can't get there then you got to come up with a plan B because it's 6 months in and you know it's you know time are wasting I mean not you know I'm not saying that anyone's wasting time I'm saying you have a lot of professionals involved the bills are running up and In fairness some point we'll get to In fairness I don't necessarily agree and Matt Matt indeed is my friend uh but I don't necessarily agree with his perspective the reality is uh there are counties and to my knowledge All Counties across the state uh allow what it is we tried to do can I also add based on what you said at the beginning of the meeting that we are to answer your question working towards finalizing all of it and I do think current state based on some things that happened last week that it's been defined hey current state this is what the the expectations are of the roles and we're working to clarify it permanently and I think the the ordinance tonight in terms of um the promotion strategies and things like that are steps in that direction so moving towards being able to clear all this up for all parties up to and including the town so committee Midori are you in line with where everything's at right now where we're headed I think we're moving in a direction finally we're moving which is good to see I might not agree we we don't all agree on everything all the time but at least we all agree we're finally moving forward after being stagnant for like three months that's the unfortunate part is is you know we want you want to get things going get processes in place so like even the new ordinance that you introduced tonight regarding you know selection of a chief so uh I would assume that's part of your process and I would assume but what I didn't understand maybe C wrong did I hear public safety director say you were just reading that ordinance now or you worked on that with them everybody worked together it's a collaborative thing for this ordinance you're you're addressing your questions to the mayor oh just as a for ask I'm asking I'm asking to the mayor okay okay well I didn't know that you know when I come up here he's running the meeting I appreciate that Randy I I apologize if I upset anybody I just that's a that's a good qu I mean you can somebody answer that question then when when was right to be fair either way to be fair to Frank let him ask the question what is the question uh I was just asking the question and I apologize if I upset the rules here I guess being that I know everybody here I'm a little informal at times I was just asking if it was a collaborative effort with our new public safety director and the chief's Association and labor Council and the committee putting together this ordinance that was prepared tonight I would say yes what's that I mean I would say yes we're collaborating on all sides and we're navigating through it it was mainly amongst the township committee to be honest and labor counsel and and Jack pigeon uh we did not consult with the police chief Association or frankly with uh the officer in charge or with the director really on what goes into there oh um um but we did hear oh yeah um yes we did we did hear from all sides prior tonight so is your question is your request or proposed solution making sure that we talk to all sides I I I think all I was trying to ascertain was you know to avoid issues in the future like you ran into at the prosecutor's office when you created a position did you when you took this ordinance together would you put it together did you consult with the public safety director and the pro and not the prosecutor's office he wouldn't do that for this but like the Chiefs Association like they're going to help you with the selection process when you were discussing the amount of years for a sergeant and whether or not they're eligible for the chief there was a chief Association discussed because I'm sure they deal with this on a regular basis they may had some input also that might be something different I was just curious if you were all working as a team on this or this was just really the council and labor attorney that's I mean that's why I asked the question earlier about the verbage in terms of three years versus 5 years that's why I asked the question to Jack just articul articulating where we pulled that from it wasn't the air we pulled that from standard operating procedures from New Jersey police from what was that from like another department I ass labor Council based it on his experience working with other departments yes okay but it wasn't something I was just curious if you know you're starting to to include the state chief Association in you know collaboration with something like this that's all yeah I don't think they get involved in in those aspects Frank oh okay that's my understanding all right and then um what was my other item I was going to hit real quick was um so in regards to reports regarding police reports so obviously till the public safety director gets going with things I understand why there's no kind of report regarding that uh maybe it would be good to hear from the police department regarding like uh I know it was in the eeko but not everybody reads the eeko online you know there was a a Breakin Sunday in Millington on Long Hill Road you know updates you know just I'm not saying specifically about investigations but we used to get like the police blot discussed here the meeting for the residents who don't read the paper like you know uh you know how many you know drunk driving arrests or you know you have like burglaries or something like that just Public Safety information no first off I really appreciate officer in charge Chim Bell and director coming to these meetings I want to say publicly thank you for doing so I agree with that 100% it has been pointed out to me in the past what in all my vast Wall Street success led me to believe I understand anything about policing uh and the answer was not much so to answer your question I'm going to defer to either officer Chell or or or directed people so both for that matter uh my guess is there here is information that should not be released to the public certainly on a timely basis now I don't know if I stepped outside my Lane I probably did just there I see on Facebook some people saying why weren't we told about this I don't know that you're supposed to be told I know in the past years in the past sometimes when there was a active incident like um one time I know there was burglary suspects one time somewhere in Millington they put out like the alert the text alert that there was you know if they were looking for a vehicle in the area or something like that if there was something actively going on I think in the past was that I can't ask that question lock your doors or whatever remind something to that effect like if there was an active incident going on I remember they had used the text alert a few years back more often than it's being used now I hate doing I could be wrong offic CH I mean this is your expertise would would you mind uh I mean that's a fair question my gut is I don't want to know everything well and I also think like it would be in what Randy reports if it's relevant to report on it would be in what okay there we go no we're going to we're going to go here with regard to previous um Rave alerts those have gone out when there's something active in progress where somebody has fled on foot and they're not able to locate it but they have some kind of a description or something that they're going off of maybe a vehicle something that that affect um the one from the other night um that one I think was at five or so in the morning um it it was uh and uh they with that incident they brought out um a drone and uh a canine to do the search but they weren't able to locate anything um we are working on modifying that Rave system for how it's going to get uh utilized again obviously we had the discussion during the lepc meeting so that's still getting worked out and and just in general I know I mean it's a sad part of life that there are Breakin from time to time it happens we are between three highways right we have 78 we have 24 and we have 287 these things happen in policing is that something that would be sop to I my my gut says you're not going to announce that in the immediate sense it would be as part of a report that Randy gives or or or officer chrio may give or or the director may give depending on EV avability but in in in the moment unless there's a I'm put searching at that moment when it's actually happened say that again they're all tied up searching and and actively working that event when that you know when that occurs so they're they're busy uh looking for the vehicle looking for the ve you know um doing all those activities and at the risk of putting words in your mouth if there were a threat to the public there would be some kind of announc something would be involved I again I'm I'm waiting into something that's not my area of expertise honestly I trust you I trust the department the police department in Long Hill do an outstanding job I know Mayors from throughout the state and I can tell you not all those communities have the same working relationship and respect for their Police Department as we have we have here in Long Hill I can tell you in all the years I've been on the township committee I don't recall ever receiving a complaint from from a resident regarding uh the lill Township Police Department I've lived here 30 years now that goes back to when uh director peoples was Chief peoples and all the way up till now with you and officer in charge so I'll take this opportunity to commend you and I trust Mo most importantly I think we trust you what whatever you do in terms of announcing whatever you need to the public I trust that it is in the best interest of this community and I think to answer your question is if it's relevant and allowed to communicate that that would be going forward in ry's report right yeah my well my report would be a month lateer or so right sorry but if it needs to come out earlier so and Frank I know I we probably went beyond your question was a fair question listen I I appreciate you answering the question allant to elaborate on it so the public you know can hear it and I think that's really all I was really looking for was you know just when we have stuff like that if it's maybe gets added to the report or if she has any words of caution for the residents and as always I appreciate the way you bring these kind of items to our attention every once in a while there's a face random Facebook post from somebody never never gets any traction and and way it goes thank you thank you thank you and thank you all but that if you're still up you're still up I'm done that's it I I look forward hopefully at the next meeting you know we have uh some progress I think now that it has begun I think it will take on us some momentum uh I I apologize that's on me to the police department I wanted something I wanted movement uh and perhaps I moved it quickly without if there was any lack of communication that's on me and I apologize well one last quick question before I run um looking at the the the salaries for everyone um administrator bar is is still working for the the accounting firm uh he's not a Township employee yet can you answer that question it's both I can I am a Township employee and I work for the firm both oh so it's it's both both okay yeah I was just wondering I didn't know if you know it gets build through the the third party firm or if he's an employee directly you know that's what the question was but you work for both they answer the question thank you thank you thank you Frank other members of the public please Richard dorsy Sterling New Jersey for a while uh I'm a little bit you know back in the old days but I'll answer one of uh Frank's questions about what information goes out back in the days when we had more policemen and we know what to do with and probably Chief people what Chief peoples was there we had uh neighborhood watchs things like that but we had plenty of police to do that you had a a neighborhood watch guy he would coordinate in every neighborhood signs go up and the information used to go out to the neighborhoods often but I'm talking 25 years ago when uh even we had more police in chadam Township than we knew what to do with but but money was there police has gotten down to a lot of core issues now core policing uh but one of but that's just the answer that question uh the other thing I think the other one I think Randy does a terrific job that's what I want to know he's been referred to as a consultant administrator I mean he has to hold this whole thing together I didn't know what he really was anymore uh I appreciate his work he does very well here uh but he does he's not actually Township administrator yes he is he was a Township administrator okay that's good all right fine so so to to be more specific I am paid as the chief finance officer through the township of long hill for ,20 and I think I escalated $8 on top of that so $1,122 I get paid per year to be the Chief Financial Officer everything else is built through a agreement from uh The Firm that I work for for with the township yeah because I was wondering I mean I don't think his Township administrator is uh is a fair Financial uh Fair salary for what he does actually okay that's thank you I I was wondering I seen I remember working in Township committees that he would be the administrator plus they throw and he'd still be the CFO so that would mean you know his salary was now around 200,000 instead of 180 which is I think is fair because he's doing both jobs okay but all that the other thing I'm still not clear on who the appropriate Authority is I've watched it changed over two years 10 times I think back and forth A lot of times it was wrong but uh who is the appropriate Authority so here we go it started out in this in this iteration just say just say now just say right now right now the appr already was no no no just say right now current state current I've got the floor you be quiet you be quiet everybody be quiet thank you Commander dorsy you're the only one that's being respectful right now uh director peoples was hired as the appropriate Authority there was some uncertainty in between H say right now direct the peoples is the appropriate Authority thank you okay okay that's I I think Randy should be but that's your decisions now uh the next thing uh said brought up uh the time and I I don't know what the pensions like now but isn't it 30 years to get your 65% yeah you have to do there are officers here that have to use 30 have to do 30 years to get their 65% but isn't isn't it staggered there is some like people my age have 25 Alexis is still under the old system I know what Sergeant Roberts is but Joe's got to be yeah there's leveled there's a lot of different Chang but there's a lot of police office I don't know how many sergeants are under that would be something to look into how many sergeants have to do the 30 years before they're eligible for a 65% pension and I don't know if well Chiefs of police I don't think any of these guys have get to be 65 years old that used to be the law too chief of police at 65 has to go uh they have to retire Chief foron back in in in Burn's Township handcuffed himself to the desk at one time cuz he would wouldn't go but uh that's that's the other thing so thing now I think where you're talking 8 years is not in a state police you have to have at least 10 years before you're even promoted to Sergeant okay uh you have a young man here uh maybe they are qualified maybe they have master's degrees in public administration and but uh if you're not out there for a while and and see every bit bit of police work for I think at least 10 years I don't think he should be a chief of police that's a long time well the good news there is the proc he be here for 20 years but the process now will include a an objective uh process and wherever it comes out it comes out if if you're right I think that would be evidence during that testing and interview and I do appreciate I mean I've been promoted I was promoted three times to the chief's Association uh and a lot of people don't understand we not we're not Civil Service the chionship committee can change the rules anytime they feel like that's the way it works under under the system we have uh and we used to have our book used to say can change Elite omit at any time and PBA had to sign off or didn't sign off on that but uh my opinion is I would think a man should at least have 10 years in law enforcement or a woman or I'm sorry yeah I'm sorry okay the person who any person that gets promoted to that rank they need some time out there uh like I say uh I don't think you're going to see you look around the state you're not going to see many departments as a chief that uh started off with let in 10 Bob F around I don't know even he did he have that many years yeah and but Bob Bob ferano I've known him since he was a baby and he was a different individual he lived and died Long Hill Township uh even he didn't even get out out into the real police World until he was uh later on in his career everything he did State local Mars County was for this town and that's the way he operated uh like I said different individual uh what else I had one more thing I think no and of course the selection of the chief of police is the in in when I worked with it was the township committee they would get a chance to interview those people make sure they're into the norm because all police departments and towns are different you people have to decide if he they fit in to the norm of the township what is needed here and what is expected here uh and that's the way I was always promoted I don't know how many did you work with the chief's Association at all for you did yeah I I didn't know if long Township ever used it but we always use the uh for every in chadam Township always used the Chiefs Association and uh I was involved in many promotional processes and found they're usually right on key that's good that's great to hear and I'm glad glad made that decision thank you thank you thank you Commander open to the public for those in the audience sing none Megan at home Pamela would like to speak please if she could say the name I know who it is hi Pam sorry just took me a second to unmute myself uh Pamela oens Millington and thank you for taking my question um I see of course in the uh the statement with the wages the public safety director salary and also the I know we're not discussing ordinance 55 5-24 my question is these um seem to imply to me that the public safety director position is in perpetuity uh implying that it continues forever it is my understanding that this position was brought on board for a very definite purpose and a contract for five years so would you want to put something that possibly has a beginning and an ending time in an ordinance implying imp perpetuity versus position uh in this case being called The Authority appropriate Authority in an ordinance is that clear I'm sorry so Pam I I was just speaking with uh Jack Township Council the salary ordinance just authorizes a salary it doesn't mean the position has to be filled okay and it gets amended at least once a year so if the position is no longer there it will be removed from the ordinance okay uh then you would make a change to the ordinance if the position's no longer there yes but but as the mayor said all it does is authorize a salary range for that position it doesn't require that the position be filled gotcha it it's updated all the time as salaries increase then the salary ordinance has to be amended accordingly so we add positions and we take out positions as circumstances change gotcha so uh is this position a fiveyear and then what in in year five you'll reassess whether it's needed or not um or is this being considered indefinitely imp perpet my understanding being that this position was created and on board for a very definite purpose what's the what's the feeling on the township committee at this point I Pam it's not a permanent position it will I don't want to use the word end uh reassessed it will be reassessed as we go along but I think it's important to point out that director peoples because that's who we are referring to here has a contract with the town uh that was voted on by the township committee and passed unanimously whenever I think back in February right I'm I'm aware of that uh when you do these salary checks for ranges having been a manager for more than 30 years I was responsible for doing that for my staff on occasion I wouldn't say every year but certainly um on a set schedule is it available to the public where you got these numbers from I don't understand question I think Randy can probably answer that these are just ranges they're they're not necessarily uh coming from any anywhere we uh take a look at what the people are getting paid um obviously I don't want the uh top of the range that I have to adjust um all these salaries every year so we look to make them um at least for a couple years that we could fit this salary range in so uh is it based on on um some numbers yeah it's based on some numbers what the market uh uh dictates and and we have a minimum and maximum this is not the wages that are set for this year yeah individual salaries are set by resolution but those salaries have to fall within the range just set forth the new ordinance and and I I Thank you Pam for your question so I I'll uh thank Randy publicly he put a lot of work into researching uh at the direction of the township committee what would be uh market for towns our size for the responsibilities involved Etc and brought that to the township committee because the township committee wanted to make sure that our employees which are are in fact the most important aspect they do far more than what the township committee does uh they're the ones that serve the community are paid fairly to Randy's point we're not trying to overpay but we definitely want to make sure they feel appreciated and and are rewarded appropriately so the work you did over I think six months I mean this wasn't uh an overnight uh Endeavor uh when you brought it to us it was done uh done thoughtfully so the numbers there's there's something behind those numbers they didn't just come out of thin air hopefully Pam does that answer your question yeah it it just um having done informal checks on my own uh seems upper salary range seemed higher than I would have expected having informally compared with like townships um what I would have expected the upper range to be but I trust Randy uh did a far more extensive search than I did and um we'll leave it at that I was gonna can I ask Pam I was gonna say if there's like a certain one or certain specifics that you feel we should make sure we're evaluating well I had presented many many months ago the uh other townships that I looked at for a public safety director and the upper salary range and at that point it seemed like uh lill was uh out of range as far as the upper limit okay thank you thank you Pam thank you you're welcome any other members of the public online Maryann n would like to speak good evening Maryann good evening um I have two comments and there also questions uh the first one with reference to criteria for the police chief I have really a good question regarding how come military experiences has not been Incorporated at years of experience um I know with the NYPD you need a degree um but there's also a catalyst with regards to your prior experience um in the military um I don't know if that would be a higher threshold for a transident if they have that background um my second comment slash question regarding Rave alerts um I I highly think right now in the world that we're living in um it it's of importance that we need to bring more awareness to the public on basic things that they should be doing um of note Edison New Jersey they recently released something that there was a series of break-ins these these people okay um I have to be very careful in terms of how I State um but we're fully aware right now there's crws going around it's consistent throughout our communities this is not the norm and guy you know you said where you live you're not concerned I personally am concerned because we're dealing with a different Society right now um and Edison they're going house by house and they're ruthless um basic things on a rave alert I would just anticipate I would love to get more and yes I was one of the people who posted it on the community forums um I grew up in New York um it's a lot different for people around around here who are not aware of what's really going on so I do think it's important to keep it even at a level to the extent of keep your windows closed you know we in essence we went from Key flops and committee men verza you've already experienced your car your son's car stolen and now we're going to the point where they're being bringing weapons into your home um I just I think it's extremely important that there's some awareness campaign regarding this and that that's all I have to say thank you Maran thank you marann and offic cherell and director peoples are here I'm sure they heard what you had to say and this sounds perfunctory but they'll take it under advisement I the township committee is not qualified to direct either of our esteemed uh employees as to how to handle that I don't know I hear what you're saying but uh I I I trust that they will do the right thing and you know in terms of a public awareness campaign I don't know maybe that's a good idea but I I'll leave that to the officer in charge and direct the peoples but you said you had two questions what were the question questions embedded there well the first first one was the criteria for police chief um I questioned why military experience ah was not incorporated as years of experience so Jack looked into it that's not in our ordinance I I know other towns may or may not have it have we ever had that uh I'll ask the director and the officer in charge I have we ever had something specific in your recollection going back to when you started we've had many uh military and we thank them for their service to the to the country I believe your in your initial draft of the ordinance um had military experience in it but but that was to to be taken into consideration I think the Chiefs Association could still do that wasn't for eligibility I think that's what MaryAnn's talking about eligibility for promotion okay as opposed to you know one of the criteria that's considered okay but but I don't think we ever have add it as part of the eligibility we have not not for eligibility requirements correct right thank you director Maryann I you heard the qu the answer I think yes um but as I mentioned um I now with the NYPD um you know it's now our degree um and then if you have the military experience it's counted as years of service so and and and and we we are lucky to have Commander dorsy here who was a captain in the chattam Township Police Department and maybe he has something to to compare it with over there I think the Chiefs may consider that in their evaluations exctly uh and and give maybe extra points to a man that might have more military service that was my experience with the Chiefs the other where military service was involved is in hiring if it came to two equal per people that were qualified to for the job a veteran at one time I don't know if it's still the same way but it was Veterans would show uh you have to give pref you should give preference to to the veteran and that I that was uh I was at one time in a hiring process but as but I think the Chiefs they that's part of in my experience that was part of their evaluation when they uh do their oral interview is uh they raise points they raise points how much College I have Masters agre things like that that's all considered in there it's interesting to me though that it sounds like it's not U part of the objective process where it specifically says if you served in a military you get a a point we'll say you're saying they can they can which makes it subjective yeah it's it's I think it is more subjective than than objective but they will if a man has you know four years in U it has to be subjective because it all depends on what you did in the military right Neal exam is objective but it's all it's all considered I mean fair enough all right if you're running a px that's not the same as being in military police I I don't know Mike did you ever serve on any of the the oral boards for the Chiefs Association time to move on but uh I I thought maybe might have but uh they they're very thorough with the Believe It or Not uh never an experience believe me all right thank you I do appreciate it Commander Maran you're still there yes thank you okay I appreciate it uh any other members of the public uh at home seeing none I'll look for a motion to adjourn so moved second we're going back into exec aren't we I make a motion that we retire to exec with no further action agree okay thank you good evening everybody happy Halloween mad I Tred not to go back Buton