Council takes step to return to police chief
Public hearing on ordinance set for April 22 meeting
BY DENNIS JORDAN Correspondent
The township of Jackson may soon be welcoming back an individual who is a mainstay in many towns throughout New Jersey and in thousands of towns around the United States - a chief of police.

At the April 8 meeting of the Township Council, the governing body introduced an ordinance that, if adopted, could eliminate the position of director of public safety and bring back a chief of police to run the Jackson Police Department.

A second reading, public hearing and possible vote on the adoption of the ordinance is scheduled for the council's April 22 meeting.

"This is our first step in returning the police department to its original state with a chief position," Mayor Mark Seda said in announcing the proposed change.

Jackson has been without a chief of police since the retirement of Chief Walter McCurdy in 1986.

Since then the township's police department has been run by a public safety director appointed by municipal officials. A public safety director is a civilian, not a uniformed police officer, and he is not permitted to perform all of the duties of a sworn police officer.

The current public safety director is Matthew Kunz, who left his position on the police force to become the public safety director. Kunz has been the public safety director since July 2006, when Jackson's new mayor and Township Council form of government replaced the former Township Committee.

Councilwoman Emily Ingram said bringing a chief back to Jackson is a move in the right direction.

"When you have a chief, you have another person who can function as a police officer," Ingram said.

The creation of a chief of police also theoretically limits the council's and mayor's influence on the police department, which is a benefit, according to Seda.

"It's about time politics were taken out of the department," Seda said.

The ordinance would amend Chapter 3, Article IX of the township code, the section which deals with the Department of Public Safety.

The ordinance states that the person who is named chief of police must have at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and have at least 10 years of experience as a law enforcement officer with five of those years serving at the rank of lieutenant or higher.

If a candidate has an additional four years of command experience at a rank of lieutenant or higher, then the degree requirement is waived.

The chief of police would be appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.

While the chief would be appointed by the mayor and council, Ingram said the action still removes politics from the department.

"When the mayor changes, you can't just change a chief of police," Ingram said. "With a public safety director, every four years (when there is a mayoral election) you have the possibility of a revolving door. That alone keeps politics out of it."