Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Public Safety Director Seeks $4M for New police Communications System

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 10:48:04 -0400

Spirited debate precedes adoption of 2003 budget

By Joyce Blay
Staff Writer

JACKSON — The Township Committee on Monday adopted its 2003 municipal budget as proposed.

After three straight years of cutting the municipal tax rate, the budget the committee
released on April 7 featured a tax rate holding stable at 57.4 cents per $100 of assessed
value, according to Township Administrator John J. Kennedy.

The local tax levy to support the $30 million budget is projected to be $13,987,952, up
$831,850 from the 2002 tax levy figure of $13,156,102. Total miscellaneous revenues in
2003 stand at $8,621,593, up $735,604 from the 2002 figure of $7,885,989.

The committee also adopted an ordinance that authorized the township to self-examine its
budget without having the state do so. According to Deputy Mayor Sean Giblin, this was
permitted by the state because of the fiscal stability demonstrated by Jackson officials
over recent previous years.

"Some municipalities qualify not to be examined by the state [and] Jackson is one of
them," Giblin said. "Financial stability is the reason [the] state allows
self-examination."

However, residents who addressed the committee during the meeting’s public forum
questioned why that option was exercised.

Bill Santos, a former Jackson administrator, asked why the state had allowed the township
to examine its own books after he said a mistake of $1.5 million was made in the 2002
municipal budget.

"Now the state will allow them to look at their own books," Santos said. "That concerns
me."

"Why don’t we take advantage of a free service?" asked Garry Black.

Mayor Michael Kafton posed his response in the form of a question as well.

"Why turn down an award?" he asked. "That’s what it is. I think it’s a wonderful
compliment that the state is telling us we have been fiscally sound for the past three
years."

Former Republican mayor Vicki Rickabaugh expressed concern that Jackson’s payroll had
increased in the current year’s budget and also that $22 million in debt is being carried
by the town. Part of that debt, she said, would be due to a $5.8 million bond ordinance
the committee adopted to make its first open space land acquisition in more than two
decades.

"According to recent articles about the 2003 budget, committeemen have been quoted as
saying it’s a good time to borrow because rates are down," Rickabaugh said. "How dare
anyone tell me how much I can afford. Maybe you can afford a several hundred dollar tax
increase, but many residents cannot."

Kafton said he expected the state to provide matching funds that would greatly reduce the
$6.2 million purchase price of the 115-acre parcel targeted for purchase. Even if the
state did not provide those funds, Kafton said, the cost was a necessary one.

"I’m proud of the bonding we did in that development," said Kafton. "It’s a win-win
situation. I’m proud that my child will drive down the street one day and know what a tree
looks like. ... Even if the state doesn’t step in, we have to look after our own."

However, Bill Allmann, a Republican candidate for the Township Committee, challenged the
purchase of the former targeted site of the 185-home Kalian at Jackson development when he
addressed the committee. The land is on Jackson Mills-Freehold Road.

"Mayor Kafton has stated that the purchase is a bargain because the township is spending
only $6.5 million for this parcel, after some recent appraisals came in around $8
million," said Allmann. "The assessed values tell a different story ... The 115-acre
parcel of vacant land being purchased by the township is currently assessed at a mere
$739,400."

The committee also approved its 2003 capital improvements budget. One project is a $4
million replacement of the current police communications system, which Committeeman Josh
Reilly, the panel’s only Republican, said he would not approve because only one estimate
had been provided for its cost.

In response, Public Safety Director Sam DePasquale said he had provided only the one
estimate from Motorola because the company had the equipment the police department needed
as well as a state contract. He said that because the township did not make a commitment
to the purchase, Motorola would not provide a specific purchase price. DePasquale said
that was the reason he had submitted an estimate of $4 million to the committee, but he
added that the township was also not locked into any deal with Motorola either.

"Sometimes you get what you pay for, so we use the company we’re familiar with and that we
and other people are satisfied with," said DePasquale. "The way this bonding works, there
has to be money available to buy it if we get a bid. It’s planning, that’s what this is
all about. The longer we wait, the more expensive it’s going to be."

DePasquale said another reason he wanted Motorola to provide the new communications system
was because the police department also needed a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and
that it needed to be compatible with the police radio system that was budgeted for 2003.

He said he felt that Reilly did not understand or appreciate that the purchase of the
radio system, or the anticipated future purchase of the CAD system, was necessary to the
safety and efficiency of the township’s police officers.

"It annoyed me that I didn’t have the support of the man on the committee that is supposed
to be my police liaison," said DePasquale. "He’s entitled to his opinion, but as far as
I’m concerned it doesn’t look as if he supports the issue. The police department should
not be a political pawn."

In response, Reilly later said that while he understood how vital the communications
equipment was to Jackson’s police department, he felt it was more important that the
public be made aware of what he characterized as the fiscal irresponsibility of the
committee’s Democratic majority members and DePasquale.

"I recognize the other members on the committee have a majority and this was my way of
bringing to the public’s attention this concern without jeopardizing the purchase of the
needed radio system," said Reilly. "I asked [DePasquale] for more estimates, but he never
gave any to me. Unfortunately, I think he’s playing politics with this issue by not
working with me at all to fulfill my request. I think that is irresponsible behavior on
his part. It’s my job as committeeman as well as police liaison to get the best deal for
the police as well as the public."

 http://tritown.gmnews.com/news/2003/0515/Front_Page/018.html

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