EXCLUSIVE: Officer Gary Przewoznik, President of the union, said he was disheartened that this announcement was made to the media without prior notification to the union so he could have prepared the officers affected. “This is a very emotional issue for these officers,” said Przewoznik, “they are not just a number in a budget book. They could have extended these officers some basic consideration because this does affect their lives.”
Lakewood currently employs 99 township police officers and 24 superior officers. Eight of the officers have submitted papers to retire. Last year, Township officers responded to over 87,000 calls for service and over 85,000 calls so far this year. The current Census figures have not been released, but the union estimates the population to be approximately 80,000 residents.
Officer Przewoznik said, “Our officers have continued to do their jobs despite the fact that we are working with minimum manpower. This situation will be exacerbated by the fact that six officers have recently retired, another eight will be leaving and the Township is looking to reduce our manpower by another five.”
“The residents in our community need to be aware that their elected officials are choosing to severely hinder our ability to respond to them in their time of need,” said Przewoznik. “I should note that of the 99 officers currently employed, approximately 30 of those officers work in administration, the detective bureau, and other assorted capacities within the police department. That means that only 60 officers respond to calls for service, or 55 officers if they proceed with these layoffs.”
Township Manager Michael F. Muscillo, in papers submitted to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, said that the Township will have an increase of Pension contributions in excess of $850,000 and they need to take extreme measures to address a projected shortfall.
“I do not understand how the Township can site a shortfall of $850,000 when we estimate that they will experience a savings of $1.6 million in salaries when all 14 officers retire,” said Przewoznik.
“Our members feel that we are not receiving an accurate accounting of Lakewood Township’s budget, so we are going to file an OPRA request to see where our residents’ tax dollars are being spent. We are especially interested in the salary, benefits and vouchers submitted by the Township Committee,” added Przewoznik. “We are also looking into hiring a forensic auditor to find out if there are other areas within the budget that the Committee could find to cut that would not so adversely affect the residents.”
“All of our officers are personally invested in this community and want to ensure that the residents’ safety and well-being is being considered in these budget decisions. We do understand how tough the past few years have been economically, but we also want to ensure that cuts aren’t made at the expense of the communities’ protection,” added Przewoznik.
Thank you PBA! We support you!
Well said Gary…
I will stand behind our PBA and LPD any day over township behind-the-desk beuraucrats! Stand strong as we fully support our officers!
we are here if u need us. just like ur here when we need you!!! we are behind u all the way!!!
Mr. President,
Would the department consider moving some of the 30 “administration officers” to the road?
Why are there always LPD officers sitting in their cars and reading books? (yes i have about 2 dozen pics of 7 different officers to back up my accusation)
Why are there always groups of officers sitting in their cars on the side of the road for hours straight?
My point is that in better times I would back you 100% but in these difficult economic times every department must tighten their budgets including our first responders….
Respectfully,
A Taxpayer
go for the forensic audit. about time that happens. but don’t get bitter. look at Newark. it’s happening everywhere. Lakewood PD is the best, and we hope we get to keep you all. of course, most towns around here have moved all uniforms out of admin and onto the streets, saving beaucoup bux. time for same in Lakewood.
Newark is laying off 167 officers
#4, those officers are probably working at construction areas. They are not scheduled to be patrolling during those times. and there presence at construction sites/roadwork is not paid by the town or your taxes, but by the construction company/utility doing the work.
Officer Gary Przewoznik, your comments and concerns are right on target. There needs to be some answers as to how the town arrived with the financial figures they are coming up with . I’m sure there are many other ares this town can save money that would have far less imapct than reducing the number LPD officers
I hope that in the final analysis no LPD officiers are laid off , if anything more need to be hired
Good Luck to the PBA and the LPD
To number 5. Let’s see those pictures. They are probably officers on roadjobs. Lakewood has GPS in the vehicles and I know for a FACT that if a vehicle is stationary for more than 30 mins the administration is alerted. So I challenge you sir to come forth with those pictures
To: my voice says:
December 1, 2010 at 12:04 pm
You say: “I’m sure there are many other ares this town can save money that would have far less imapct than reducing the number LPD officers”
I say: Lets cut in the PD and in every other department….. We understand that it might impact our town….. But we can not pay the bills any longer……
forensic audit… great idea. bout time.
To anon says:
Let the town cutout the “Fat” and waste in other non essentials services before reducing the ranks by even one officer.
Why are you photographing the LPD? do you have nothing better to do with your time ,sounds like you have an agendaa here
Mr. Uh oh,
I would rather not send in my pics because I do not want to hurt anyone personally. Let me assure you that if I do send in the pics you will see for yourself that not even one pic was taken by a construction site.
It is very possible that administration is notified if the car is stationary for more than 30 min (which btw I don’t understand why it’s not 5 min). But that does not take away from the fact that I see it every day, and you would also see it if you just looked for it……
To: my voice says:
December 1, 2010 at 12:16 pm
You bet I got an agenda and let me tell you what it is,
I want my government to work for me (taxpayer) and not the other way around….. Let’s not forget who the employer is and who the employee is…
How about we cut courtesy busing before we sacrifice public safety?
to anon:
contrary to popular belief in town, police officers are allowed by federal law to have 2 15 min breaks and a 30 minute lunch break. You can read a magazine on your BREAK. thank you
To: hey anon:
December 1, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I am talking about hours straight, not 15 or 30 min.
Also is it federal law that they can burn my gas (taxpayer) on their break?
While we appreciate officers that are doing a fine job , we cant wait for those that arent doing a good job – to get fired. To generalize the quality of police offers doesnt make sense. There are those that are helping the citizens ,the way it was intended to be.Then there are those that abuse their power and tend to forget what the purpose of their job is. They are paid to help us and protect us.They are government employees i.e. they work for the citizens.
getting off topic here. except for the photog, no one has an issue with the excellent performance of Lakewood PD. and courtesy busing is a great topic, but thats Board of Ed, not Township. So where you goin to find the money to pay for all these 5 guys? could be 500G, lotta money. aint gonna find that in DPW unless you sell our facility
What about the $20,000 increase one certain employee received that was not needed or the aide to the mayor which is not needed. Cut the fat off the top before you fire the people that serve and protect.
I hope you never need a police office Mr. Langert because there may not be one available to help you .
A cops vehicle is their office and break room, so yes I think they would be allowed to use YOUR gas on their break.
To anon:
Why don’t you request a ride along with an LPD officer to see what they do since you have such an extensive knowledge of what goes on.
To: DPW guy23bg says:
December 1, 2010 at 12:51 pm
I hope I didn’t give off the wrong impression, I have no Issue with most of the LPD, they do their job professionally.
My only point is that when the taxpayers have to cut back the LPD should not cry that their dept. should be exempt. Anyone on the outside could come up with 5 items to cut out…..
Yup- fabulous idea! I hope anon has the guts to do it!
I agree with two sentiments expressed here. Cuts need to be made but every other option should be explored before cutting is done in the LPD and given the backroom dealing in this town, there is no doubt in my mind that cuts can be made elsewhere. Lets have a forensic audit.
That said, there is no reaon why there are so many highly paid officers doing administrative work. That should be done by civilans getting paid less and officers should be out on our streets patroling.
Thanks LPD for the good work the vast majority of you do (this coming from a guy who has gotten his fair share of tickets).
To: This anon guy wow:
December 1, 2010 at 12:55 pm
I hear your opinion, and this is exactly my point in these hard economic times we gotta learn how to cut back
To yup:
December 1, 2010 at 12:58 pm
In the front of the car or in the back? JJ
I never said the LPD is not a great department to the contrary most officers do great work…… all that I said was that there is room to cut you just gotta open your eyes…..
I think the issue here is that we can’t afford to lose manpower and we need the town to come up with more creative ways to cut spending that will not sting as much as not having anyone to respond to residents when they are in need.
From the perspective of a resident fed up with taxes and a bad economy it’s easy to look at a town employee ( who has been vilified by the state gov’t) as a do nothing, just collecting a paycheck off your back. But the more you try to understand what they do, you will see that they are worth the cost. Understandably there will be people in every line of work that don’t give 110% but the good far outweigh the bad in Lakewood- and the bad will eventually be driven out by their own mistakes.
Bottom line, we all need to educate ourselves, then tell our politicians to come up with better solutions.
“getting off topic here. except for the photog, no one has an issue with the excellent performance of Lakewood PD. and courtesy busing is a great topic, but thats Board of Ed, not Township”
however this is still paid with our tax money , just because it comes out of a different”pocket” makes no differance
i guess its smart to cut the lowest paid officers, when you have about 7 maxed pay officers doing a secretary’s job inside the p
why not ask the UEZ for some money they give grants to other organizations and I think we all can agree this is a worthy cause.
To #14
instead of taking pictures, why don’t you get a job to keep yourself busy. This would save a lot of money in assistance you recieve.
if construction companies are the ones paying ror off duty officers to do that work then why on earth are they using police cars . they should come in thier own vehicles or the constr. comp. should provide them.
To: Bonzo says:
December 1, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Hate to break the news to you, no reason to get personal. I actually have a small business right here in town and employ 14 people, all who live in Lakewood.
Go PBA Pres!!!!!! Finally someone who has the ability to make a stand for the residents and the police force. Is it possible that the Audit will show how all the money is wasted? I think it will GOOD JOB!!!!!
Lets get to the facts,, Police are here 24/7 365days a year to serve and protect and they do a great job.. So Mr Mayor how about you tell us why a deputy township adminstrator, or how the taxes go up every year while you allow property’s to come off the tax rolls. And let us not forget the fact that you want PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR JOB,, just be honest for once..
I’d like to imagine a Lakewood where all of the citizens work and pay taxes. We wouldn’t be worrying about how to pay the Police salaries.
I would like to imagine a world where money groes on trees
Perhaps its time for the Township to sell some of their real estate to make some money??
Booshed- They use the police cars and are wearing uniforms so that they can direct traffic, use their flashing lights on the cars, etc. Besides that, they are using old cars that the town keeps around for that use specifically along with others.
How about stopping all the free trash pick ups for “Schools,Temples and other businesses. How about landlords paying for the multiple move out pick ups they call in. Lot of “tax” money not being collected if the twp committee did it’s job we would be hiring and not firing.
Nothing “groes” on trees! 😉
Why are you not posting my comment showing the Chiefs make more than half a million dollars?
It really seems that any public /gov’t emplyee has had this feeling that they have a job and it is theirs and no one can do anything about it. The gr8 governor of NJ has been fighting the teachers union the past few months.
Private sector jobs, those lucky to have them in this environment know that times are tough and they need to work and fill in for other vacant jobs- public sector employees don’t think so and are having a very difficult time with the new reality.
Yes we all appreciate what police do but everyone needs to chip in and realize the taxpayers can’t continue funding evrybody.
RE taxes have skyrocketed the past few years, many people are hurting and the public sector needs to wake up about reality.
I believe the point being made by the union is that they cannot afford to lose officers because there are not enough of them based on the population. i think they should see how many cops are in surrounding towns and compare manpower.
also, i believe the road job cars are no longer used for regular patrol. they are way past their prime and are just used for their lights. they are on road jobs for safety reasons. people tend to slow down when they see police cars.
Just close the DPW and we would have plenty of money.
To #5 next time you get pulled over why dont you show the officers the pictures you have so you can be handled appropriately
how much does the police dept get paid from these private construction companies. is it by the hour or job . what is thier pricing structure?
Has anyone asked Twp committemen to take a cut in there pension and benefits. I liken this team to the New York Yankees both Lakewood and the Yankees have wasted so much money on nonsense, its ridiculous. Is the Twp still paying off that Public Works building that went 30 million over budget
To #44 if you have anything bad to say about Chief Lawson they will not publish it.
to 50 – you’re kidding right. The DPW project was brought in 5million under budget and the project would have been paid off if the Twp committee would have sold the old DPW property like it was suppose to, but the Twp committee is giving it away to special interest developers for housing
First of all lawson makes (moderated) a year.
I think the officers that work road jobs should pay for gas out of their own pocket. The averege road job is 7-8 hours and the car always stays on the whole time and it eats up the gas even more wen it idles.
Third of all. I think we should get some guys like (moderated) to do some work in the police department as vollunteers and get rid of the officers that are making a lot of money sitting inside the offices
The pba pres should speak to his men too. Where is the common courtesy given to law abiding citizens getting ticketed for minor non enforced violations with no warning..Thats why people lost the respect the lpd deserves.instead of bringing down crime they are ticketting women picking up their husbands or dropping off passengers which happens and is normal practice by any office facility or school.thats not what we need officers for.
Nor do we need a high paid officer pulling over a volunteer EMT on his way to a call.
I thought Det. James finagan was president of the Pba
To anon:
The township gets a cut from the officers hourly rate from the private contractor that covers well more than enough for gas
to #37 “how the taxes go up every year while you allow property’s to come off the tax rolls.”
Valid question but don’t expect to get an honest answer .
there are so many ready to cut essential services that are badly needed in this town ,yet there is so much waste and things given away that could easily pay for the things that are essential in running this town
1. The township geta a cut of the money each officer makes when off duty on a road job.
2. There are three areas that should be the last cut and that is fire, first aid and police.
3. Save money by closing Town hall one day a week and furlough non essential workers.
4. Privatise trash pickup, sell of the garbage trucks and stop spending over $900,000.00 a year on new ones.
5. Sell the bright yellow trash bins, the Town paid over $750,000.00 for them
6. Stop selling public land for $1.00
7. Sell the stadium or rent it for a fare price.
8. The public should demand a full audit because they will be surpirsed on how their tax dollars are waisted.
LPD has done and is doing a great job for all Lakewood residents. Chief Lawson and the dedicated men and women that serve and protect the community are to be revered for their bravery, their commitment to duty, and their professionalism.
The Township Committee must understand that some accommodations can be made without reducing the number of sworn officers. They are needed. This is the time for all segments of the community to come together on the issue and look for other revenue sources or spending cuts.
The loss of the 8 senior officers that are seeking retirement should be more than enough of a contribution from LPD. God bless them all
Bill Hobday
Anon, you have made some good points but the township receives a percentage per hour cut from the officers that work off-duty assignments
To: Anon:
December 1, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Do you think we should PD last even if there are “extra officers”?
When someone who heads the police union says the town cant afford to loose officers, should we take his word at face value?
newark fires 167 officers
lakewood can use less too. there is just no money to pay for bloated salaries and for patrols ticketing law abiding citizens.
If the Township of Lakewood was your home and you were looking at ways to cut your houshold budget. You find that your security alarm is costing you $15 per month to monitor so you decide to save that money and have your alarm disconected.
When your home is burglarized and the stolen items and damage cost you additional money in insurance payments, are your really saving in the long run?
but if the alarm is useless you might as well get a diffrent one. a more effective one.Enough with the fear mongering.face the fact there is no money.not for high salary desk jobs or for bloated pensions when taxpayers can’t put food on their tables. Cities and Towns across NJ have cut officers as well as other departments.
Dear Anon, What kind of business do you have? I’d love to have a business like yours that affords you the time and leisure to go around taking pics of cops! I have a business and I don’t have that kind of time. I must be in the wrong business!!!!!
Why do you feel the need to take pics of the cops? What is that about? Spill the beans, who are you and what’s your business. Don’t be afraid of hurting anyone by being honest. Honesty is the best policy and we might even patronize your business.
Reply to Bill Hobday says:
good to see some common sense on this issue !
hard to believe there are people posting here that are in favor of making cuts in the LPD ,they are the ones to scream the loudest when their homes are broken into !
Headline –
PBA President: Elected Officials Are Choosing To Severely Hinder Our Ability To Respond To Them In Their Time Of Need [Featured Story]
Headline down below that one –
NJ Urban Enterprise Zone Approves Six Police Officers For Lakewood’s UEZ
Now the way I read the combination of these 2 stories is that Lakewood is laying off 5 officers (per the first headline) and then hiring 6 officers (per the second headline). So this means that Lakewood will be getting one new officer more than they have right now. What is everyone complaining about?????? Am I missing something????
To: anonymous:
December 1, 2010 at 7:35 pm
If I would care for you to know my name I would have signed my post….. all that you need to know is that I pay taxes…….
Old Timer- those are not new positions. The headline is misleading. There are 6 officers that have their current positions paid for with that money. The UEZ granted them another year of the money. Those officers are dedicated to the UEZ zone (by that funding) but are not new.
The 6 offers paid for by the UEZ can not take reports or primarily respond to crimes out side the UEZ Zone.
There’s allot of talk about the Police just driving around and issuing summons. I suggest that you use the open record act and get the data on how many mv accidents are in Lakewood and compair that number to Brick and Toms River , then compair how many tickets are given and ow many calls for service.. You will see that Lakewood Police give out far fewer tickets, respond to more call per capita and take more MV accident reports. The police department is already at it’s breaking point because of the retirements. If the township does hire and promote more supervisors you will see a sky rocket in crime. You need more police and supervisors to guide them. If you think the gang problem is bad now just wait. If your not worried about being robbed or allowing your daughter or wife to drive to the store at night then you should support lay offs , BUT if your worried about being robbed, car jacked, your house broken into, or if your afraid that drug dealers may move in next door to your house then call the mayor and let him know.
If lay offers take place the first cuts will be in the areas were the community rely on the most. I don’t live in Lakewood but did spend the last 25 plus year protecting the Town.
you can not compare Newark to Lakewood in firing 167 officers. We need every officer that is available on staff. There are constant calls from the community for anything, from people walking on the paid sidewalks of the new homes built, to gangs, home invasions, break ins, shootings, stabbings, beatings, ohhh & lets not forget the constant car accidents from the people that don’t know how to drive due to being on the cell phones and not paying attention to the road & to children being forgotten inside locked up in the cars. ARE U CRAZY! We need our Officers
To #70 – Anonymous says:
December 1, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Thank you for the clarification.
Thank you for your post and more importantly, your service #71 Anon!!
To:Anon:
December 1, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Thanks for your service its greatly appreciated.
Since you worked for the LPD and know the inner workings, let me ask you a question. If the townspeople feel like they need to cut 500,000 from your department, which area or areas in the LPD would you cut?
All the arguments avout how great and crucial the police are miss the point. we can’t afford our towns budget. other places like nyc are paying their officers far less. either we need to cut salaries or officers, it’s that simple. The union can’t have it both ways, at least not anymore.
Most of the police do a good job, but that is not the issue.
Here you have a union head arguing against police layoffs.
Is he offering instead an across the board 10% salary cut instead?
No, because the unions are greedy. If they wouldn’t have demanded in the past the massive pay that they receive, it wouldn’t have come to this.
Bottom line is, let’s see how much the cops are paid, + all the benefits, and let’s compare it to other cities and see how it compares.
dont cut the police force just cut there way to high incomes $92,000 plus benifits a year[plus all the donuts they eat in the parking lots,of couse there just on there 15 min break]
Common sense- The police dept is already understaffed, how do we cut without doing harm to the town? And if your complaint is that they are paid too much, how much is fair? They make similar (if not less) salaries as surrounding towns but deal with a very different, complicated population. I honestly don’t know why anyone would want to be a cop in Lakewood if given the opportunity to work in a neighboring town for more money and less aggravation.
If we use blanket statements about simply not being affordable, why aren’t we discussing nonessential services?
#72 you are a sick person hope you get better
I feel for these LPD officers and for my co-workers at the LDPW that are facing layoffs. I might be one of these select few that might get laid off. I can’t speak for the police because I don’t know what their situation is because I am not a cop. The only thing I can relate with cops is carrying a gun and I know what it is like to have point it a living human being. I know what it feels like to have one pointed at me and the thoughts that run through your head while this is being done to you. I know what it feels like to have person life in your hands and your actions might take someone’s life. I also know what it feels like to be shot at and the pop of a bullet as it zooms by you. It is a lot to deal with and it is allot to comprehend. I still battle with sleepless nights from my experiences. Like I said before I don’t know what LPD go through on a daily basis or what situations they might encounter. I just find it funny how put a monetary value on a job that risks you can have to risks your life on a daily basis. To all of the officers of Lakewood you have my respect, my support, and will gladly pay the taxes for salary. There are still some people in this community that care about you guys.
As for being a DPW employee its pretty funny thing being told your job might get cut because the township can’t afford it anymore. Now I can’t speak for the rest of my coworkers because I don’t what there fiscal situation is. I know if it wasn’t for the support from my family I’d probably be living in tent city with as much I get paid by the township or renting a room in a house with illegal immigrants. I have the up most respect for my coworker that somehow manage to support a family on the salaries that we get paid. Many of my coworker have to work 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet. Like I said I don’t know what my co workers go through. I don’t have a family of my own and I’ve managed to live within my means so if I lose my job to layoffs then so be it. I would rather lose my job then one my coworker who has a family to take care of. The funny thing is how the township can say they don’t have the money to pay my salary. I’ve seen township land given up to next to nothing. The Committee members that already have a job or jobs making way more than I will ever make working for the town but have to nerve to keep their salaries and benefits for part time job. Services given away to private institutions where in any other town they would be charged for and providing public tax money to fund projects that enable the practice of hiring illegal immigrants that always fail and will always fail. The list goes on and on. While the prospect of being laid off isn’t very concerning to me personally that doesn’t take away from the fact that I am not just going to hand my job up on a silver platter.
Hey Boobshed I mean Bioshed. The construction companies pay HOURly for patrol vehicles. Before u post on a topic u obviously know nothing about why don’t you do your homework first before you make an assinine comment like that
Maybe people should stop building houses that they can afford to pay the taxes on. People have houses to large to afford and that’s everyone elses problem I guess. I’m sure you needed that new car also. Grow up. If you can’t afford to have a 3000 square foot house and two expensive cars don’t have them. Everyone would love all those things but it is not economically viable for everyone. It is not a right but a choice so don’t complain when you can no longer afford it. If the town was shrinking I could understand where the township committee was coming from but this town is far from shrinking. It’s got a population explosion from both our and the Mexican communities. Does the committee realize that there may only be 7 officers working over night. Now take an incident like a shooting (wait that never happenes in Lakewood) and 6 of the 7 officers are tied up leaving one to answer calls. Now that 1 officer has to answer calls with no backup and hope everything goes well. This move is very short sighted. There really needs to be something done about all the tax exemptions going on in town.
I saw alot of times cops chatting to each other or a cop chatting to his/her friend in the parking lot of gelbsteins
Cops can talk with their buddies once in a while they are entitled to socialize like all other humans.
forensic audit!!!!
the pain. read how in Newark a minor giveback by the union would have saved ALL those jobs. same is true in Lakewood. give back a little and save the 5 jobs, maybe many more across the board. lets see the unions represent ALL their members not just the ones with seniority who are safe and can make selfish decisions.
does anyone know how much the police dept recieves per hour for lending thier vehicles out to off duty cops who are hired By outside construction companies to controll traffic?
2 can play about who can stay
this forensic audit is a great idea, however
dont just stop digging right then n there,
i think there’s a lot more we want to hear
isnt the pd suppose to be an equal opportunity employer?
lets take a close look at the hirings, and see a surprising findings
about 70-80% were all hired as friends or family, regardless of their score on the civil service test
although there were many more qualified candidates with higher scores, when you need to higher family you skip the rest
likewise, a close look maybe at the promotions thru the ranks n files over the past years,
were they all qualified? or earned by kisses n smears?
so please dont stop uncovering whats behind the scene
i think you know well what i mean.
so what do you say Mr PBA?
so how did you pull that # of 70 to 80% oh wait I know a place no one wants to go.
It is easy to make up % and facts but you sound like a person that maybe did not get picked up by the PD and might be a little disgruntled. Maybe you did not do so good in the psychological exam.
Better luck next time.
Cutting a few officers can be by in the the offices.We dont need 2 or three offices at the watch commanders desk at all times.Nothing will happen if a person has to wait an extra five min online.There are ways to cut without jepordizing the safety of the community.We have to worry about the safety of the community not the personal life of the officer.It is hard times for everyone.
Another Solution is to take one day of vaction from every officer,DPW employee etc.That will save over 200 days of pay by not having to pay the vacation day and another person to fill in.
My point is we have to be creative.
I tell you , our officers are so much more down to earth that brick, jackson , howell and toms river.
To 34 they pay for the Pd cars also. They are needed for safety to slow the drivers down
Okay first let me start by saying to all of you law abiding citizens that get ticketed, if you received a summons it is because you broke some sort of law so stop crying about it and go pay the fine. Second off-duty officers and vehicles are paid for by the contractor not the township so stop crying about that. Third we have lost several senior officers already with several more to come and we are talking about very high salaries so that is way more than enough to cover 5 very junior officers that just one Captain’s salary pays for two if not three of them depending upon what step they are on. Forth there are officers on the desk that we officers on the road DO NOT WANT ON THE ROAD, they are fine where they are. Do you want to take away, traffic & saftey, property, detectives, IA (no more signing complaints for your tickets). We need more officers, more officers in turn would reduce overtime and increase patrols as well as decrease crime so just stop whining already before I write you another SUMMONS LOL!!!!!
Keeping our town safe should not be a dollars and cents discussion, give the PD what they need to do the job
Thank you for your service Lakewood Officer! Thank you for putting your life on the line to help others in their time of need.
Newark charges a 5% fee (tax) on all sporting event tickets,
This is allowed by the NJ legislature
I think especially in light that most lakewood residents never use the stadium and our tax money pays for the lights etc. it is imperative that we enact a similar tax in Lakewood on all events in First Energy Park
To: A Lakewood Officer:
December 2, 2010 at 9:59 am
Thanks for your service!
The captains that are retiring are being replaced and they should be, but let me ask the same question to you ask I asked yesterday of the officers who were commenting. If we the taxpayers want to cut an additional $500,000 from your department where do you, as someone who knows the inner workings, think it should come from?
To: lakewood guy:
December 2, 2010 at 10:39 am
How dare you say it should not be a dollars and cents disscussion?
I am paying for it!! Stop robbing me!!
Anon- how dare you put my family’s safety behind the almighty dollar! I agree if there is waste it needs to be cut but you cannot get blood from a stone. Stop robbing you? After retirements, hiring freezes and layoffs who will be left to help you if you actually do get robbed?