President Tony Wieners’ Message

07.13.2010

STATE PBA WARNS OF PUBLIC SAFETY GAPS DUE TO 2% CAP

            The New Jersey State PBA today warned that the 2% property tax cap signed into law today by Governor Christie will result in massive layoffs, reductions in law enforcement services and potential gaps in public safety coverage unless a public safety exemption is enacted to prevent layoffs.

            “Reducing our reliance on property taxes is important to every New Jersey resident but establishing artificial caps without the consideration of their impact on the public’s safety is a mistake we can’t afford to make,” said State PBA President Anthony F. Wieners.  “We are experiencing unprecedented layoffs with a 4% cap but the new 2% cap has no exception for public safety costs and I expect we are going to see massive layoffs soon that will impact both proactive and reactive law enforcement services.”

            The 2% cap law signed today eliminated a waiver for public safety.  The State PBA requested a limited exception to prevent layoffs by allowing only potential layoffs for economical reasons to fall outside the cap.  The PBA recommendation was not voted on however despite the lessons learned from California, Colorado and Massachusetts whose caps have led to significant losses of police personnel and services.

            “Our members are very concerned that they will not be able to respond to calls for help or to provide backup for themselves under this new cap law,” Wieners continued.  “There is no such thing as an “overstaffed” police department in New Jersey and the nearly 700 layoffs we have experienced, combined with nearly 1500 retirements, will no doubt lead to gaps in public safety in every community in the State.”

            Wieners pointed to the recent announcement by the Oakland, California Police Department that they will no longer be immediately responding to calls for crimes such as burglary, grand theft and a variety of nuisance crimes as a result of layoffs due to the tax restrictions in place in that State.  Colorado law enforcement ended patrols when gas prices rose beyond their cap (which has since been suspended by the voters) costs that are not outside the revised 2% cap.  The State PBA President fears this cap will lead New Jersey in that direction as well and it raises the question about why the State is ignoring the negative impact a hard cap has on public safety.

            “Sadly, this cap has more to do with winning political points than with serving the people,” Wieners concluded.  “The Governor is more concerned with looking good to the national media than taking into consideration the very real costs of a tax cap that doesn’t preserve the public’s safety.  Trenton needs to act to fix this serious problem and not one of my members had better come into harm’s way because this cap led to a loss of equipment, manpower or training.”

___________________________________________

  • V.P. Keith Dunn's corner

    07.21.2010

    Thanks to all the Delegates, Presidents, and PBA Members who attended the “Legacy of Heroes” event on July 21st ,
    in Liberty State Park.  This commemorative event was to honor the service of Jersey City Police Officer Marc DiNardo and bring awareness to the importance of organ and tissue donation. As police officers, we proudly serve and protect the citizens of our State every day.  Through organ and tissue donation we can continue that service by making a difference for the thousands who are awaiting a transplant.  If you would like more information regarding organ and tissue donation, visit the Sharing Network website at wwwsharenj.org.      

Rob Nixon's legislative news

07.16.2010

Legislative Report
July 20, 2010

Overview

            The Legislature is working in a rare “summer session” to analyze the proposed “toolkit” of employee/employer relations and government management changes proposed by Governor Christie.  The Senate and Assembly have so far approached this review differently with the Senate scheduling meetings into late August and the Assembly breaking the review down in “issue areas” Chaired by Assembly members.  There appears to be no immediate movement of bills though consideration of some form of the “toolkit” is expected by the Fall.  However, when combined with the recent pension and benefit changes and the 2% property tax cap, this discussion further adds to the weight of this unprecedented summer legislative activity.

            There can be little doubt that the onslaught to impact the existence of collective bargaining, employee rights and protections and pensions is well underway and that the Governor and Legislature have so far not distinguished between police and other types of public employees despite their public comments to the contrary......

For the full report - click here

_________________________________

From the desk of John Hulse

07.07.2010

Now that we are well into the summer and we are all enjoying the warm weather and festivities that accompany the season, please take a moment to think about keeping yourself safe.

We have lost several fellow Law Enforcement Officers this year to off duty motor vehicle accidents. Driving the number of miles we all do day in and day out automatically makes us more likely to be involved in a crash than the average citizen. Many times accidents are unavoidable but a little extra caution may go a long way.

Please keep our lost members in your prayers and make safety your priority when behind the wheel.

For an event to be listed on the website ONLY the Delegate may submit it & ONLY through the Intranet.
NO OTHER EVENTS WILL BE POSTED.