Fire Rescue News - Buena police may lose six officers, 10 dispatchers
By EDWARD VAN EMBDEN, Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | 0 comments
As many as 16 Buena Borough Police Department employees, including three full-time police officers, three part-time officers and 10 dispatchers, have been notified that they could lose their jobs pending the outcome of Buena's municipal budget and expected state-aid cuts, borough officials said Monday....Continue Reading
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The cuts would represent a 30 percent reduction in staff for the small borough's police force. Buena, a western Atlantic County municipality of 3,747 residents, only has full-time 10 officers, although police Chief Doug Adams said he supplements shifts with part-timers as needed because of the round-the-clock service the department provides.
Adams said the three full-time officers and three part-time officers received Rice notices last week - a legal notification that informs an employee that their job will be discussed and that they have the right to see it done in a public forum - as did the borough's dispatch officers.
Borough Council President Joseph Santagata said Buena's dispatch service could be eliminated completely. Instead, the borough likely would enter into a shared-service contract with Mid Atlantic, an Egg Harbor City-based dispatch service, he said.
The borough currently employs five full-time dispatchers and five part-time dispatchers.
Buena previously provided dispatch service for neighboring Buena Vista and Weymouth townships, but both municipalities left to join Mid Atlantic early in April 2009, ending a more than 30-year-old relationship.
Buena Borough and Buena Vista Township fell into conflict nearly a year ago when the township erected an antenna on a water tower in the borough. The $70,000-antenna boosts the dispatch signal for Mid Atlantic to cover the entire northern section of Atlantic County.
Borough officials claimed they were tricked into allowing the antenna to go up. The issue went to court, with the judge ruling in Buena Vista Township's favor.
"We had a regional thing, but since Buena Vista Township and Weymouth pulled out, it's been under consideration since then," Santagata said of eliminating the borough's dispatch center. "It's an area where we can save some dollars and still get service. I hate to say better service, but they have newer equipment than we do."
Even if it's part-time officers that get laid off, Adams said it is possible that service would be hurt. On sick days, vacation days and injury days, someone needs to be able to fill those positions on the force.
"They don't cost us anything unless they work," he said. "They're not costing the taxpayers a lot of money. There's not a lot of fat in the department."
The borough is holding off on making any decisions about its workers until it hears from the state later this month about its budget and the aid it will provide. Santagata said the borough is expecting at least a 15 percent cut in state aid.
Buena received $191,000 in state aid last year, down from the $277,000 it received in 2008.
The borough has to finalize its budget by the end of the month.
While Santagata said the potential for layoffs has been blown out of proportion, he did say something needs to be done. Pension costs and health care increases have created a shortfall, Santagata said, and if the state aid is the same as it was last year, the borough is looking at a 13-cent tax increase.
The borough's total budget figure was unavailable, as it is still being worked on, Santagata said.
Whatever the case may be, Adams said he is worried about losing any employee, let alone an entire dispatch center to outsourcing.
"I like the way we operate right now. We're very efficient," he said. "There's no one who can protect the town like we do. When things start to change, that's when you lose service."
Contact Edward Van Embden: 856-649-2072 EVanEmbden@pressofac.com
Posted in ATLANTIC on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 2:23 am
