Councilman wants outside firm to do police dept. study
Police chief has no problem with study, says dept. is understaffed
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer
Brick Township Police Chief Nils R. Berquist says he welcomes Councilman Brian DeLuca's call for an outside efficiency study of the police department.

"We can easily demonstrate we are very shorthanded," Berquist said. "It would absolutely be good for us."

DeLuca called for the study at the Dec. 16 Township Council meeting.

"I'm not an expert in police work and I would like to have a company come in," DeLuca said. "We're laying off public workers. I just want to make sure that 60 percent [of the budget] is being paid the best way possible. I want to get a different view. I'd rather have an outside entity come in here."

DeLuca said after the meeting he would call for the same kind of scrutiny no matter what township department was involved, if it accounted for the majority of the municipal budget.

"It eats up 60 percent of our budget," he said. "It wouldn't matter if it was the mayor's office, the Department of Public Works, whatever department it was. Boy, all eyes should be on there, especially in these financial times."

When council President Ruthanne Scaturro asked for other council members' opinions, Councilman Michael Thulen gave a thumbs up. Thulen has criticized police department overtime in the past.

Now is the "time and place" to do an efficiency study of the department, Thulen said after the meeting.

"We need to see what we can do to help the police department find new efficiencies and cut overtime, and where we can put more civilians to do what they can so we can put more cops out onto the street," he said. "We have a lot of cuts to make and I don't want it to be cops."

In the past, the police department leadership seemed to have "their own thought processes about the way they can do things," Thulen said.

Berquist has cut overtime by a third since he took over, Thulen said.

"I'm hoping by the time he's done, it will be about half," he said.

Scaturro asked DeLuca if he would research companies that do police department efficiency studies and supply the administration with names and quotes for the work.

"What's the money we have to expend and what kind of return do we get on it?" she said. "It doesn't have to be restricted to a New Jersey company. We might get some answers and they might come back and tell us we are understaffed. I want it to be cost-effective too. " The police department has dropped from 133 officers earlier this year to 127, largely because of attrition. When the two officers who are currently serving in Iraq are factored in, that brings the number of officers down to 125, Berquist said.

"All of those losses are in the patrol bureau," he said. Everybody is having to tighten their belts. We are looking for ways to keep police on the street."

There are no plans to lay off any sworn police officers, emergency medical technicians or communications operators, he said.

"We are working at minimum all the time," the chief said.

"We have 127 on the books," Berquist said. "We have two officers in Iraq. We don't expect to see them back until much later next year."

DeLuca said that all departments should be included in the layoff plans, which currently call for 47 township employees to lose their jobs by Dec. 31.

"We've all got to feel the pain," he said. "It should be spread across departments."

Township officials have been grappling with how to close a nearly $4 million shortfall in the 2009 municipal budget.

DeLuca said after the meeting he would like to find a company out of state for the study.

"I want to talk to a couple of civilian directors," he said. "I'd like to pick their brains. They come in — they don't know anybody. They are looking at it purely as a business aspect. They don't see a face. All they see is a position."

DeLuca said he wanted to get the study under way by the end of January, if possible.

"This is going to be very aggressive," he said. "This isn't going to drag out six to nine months."

The council's public safety committee has been discussing a possible department study for several weeks, Councilman Daniel Toth said.

"It's also the only department that is 24 hours a day, 365 days per year," Councilman Anthony Matthews said. "It doesn't hurt to do an efficiency study."