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Time To Merge


Guest Ian Noone

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Guest Ian Noone

Harrison, EN and Kearny are in deep financial trouble. Loss of state aid will lead to massive tax hikes which can not be afforded by taxpayers, many who have lost their jobs and are on fixed incomes.

It's is time to stop pussyfooting around and merge the Police and Fire Depts into the West Hudson Police and Fire Depts. One Chief for both the merged depts.

A small town like Harrison and E. Newark has no business in having all these high paying positions. The days of wine and roses are over. It's time for the taxpayers to revolt and kick out their present leaders if they don't do this. :ninja:

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Guest Taxes are too high party

Harrison, EN and Kearny are in deep financial trouble. Loss of state aid will lead to massive tax hikes which can not be afforded by taxpayers, many who have lost their jobs and are on fixed incomes.

It's is time to stop pussyfooting around and merge the Police and Fire Depts into the West Hudson Police and Fire Depts. One Chief for both the merged depts.

A small town like Harrison and E. Newark has no business in having all these high paying positions. The days of wine and roses are over. It's time for the taxpayers to revolt and kick out their present leaders if they don't do this. :ninja:

EN Mayor Smith says that EN is hanging by a thread which means it may be out of business by next year. Loss of state aid has Harrison's municipal taxes going up 24%. The taxes are too dam hihh and its caused by little men holding on to their little fiefdoms. I've had enough. We got to merge Towns not just departments.

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Guest KearnyBlue

Harrison, EN and Kearny are in deep financial trouble. Loss of state aid will lead to massive tax hikes which can not be afforded by taxpayers, many who have lost their jobs and are on fixed incomes.

It's is time to stop pussyfooting around and merge the Police and Fire Depts into the West Hudson Police and Fire Depts. One Chief for both the merged depts.

A small town like Harrison and E. Newark has no business in having all these high paying positions. The days of wine and roses are over. It's time for the taxpayers to revolt and kick out their present leaders if they don't do this. :ninja:

Yeah, about that.... Kearny will pass, thanks. We have enough problems without adding all of the Detritus from Harrison You guys can go make your own little club, just leave us out of it.

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Guest Jersey Joe

Yeah, about that.... Kearny will pass, thanks. We have enough problems without adding all of the Detritus from Harrison You guys can go make your own little club, just leave us out of it.

What does Detritus mean? Harrison doesn't want Kearny and all their high ranking officers. You have 3 Deputy Chiefs all working days. What do they do?

We have civilians on desk duty at half the cost while you have a Lt. and Ptlm.

We have a lower crime rate with less officers. We have updated policies and procedures while your still working in the dark ages. We have an efficient traffic dept while you have guys that hang around the office. It would cost us more. We are more efficient then the Kearny Pd and provide better services to the public.We have a Chief who has a college education and went to the FBI Academy and West Pt. Leadership and command. What's your Chiefs qualifications.

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And wasn't he a political appointment, and the Kearny cheif passed the civil service test.

They were both political appointments. The difference is that the Kearny PD is operating in the dark ages. But, now that 15 officers have been notified that they are being demoted, that has to change. You could save money if you put civilian dispatchers on desk duty at less then half the cost. Maybe its time for the Kearny Chief to retire. He's been there long enough. It's time for a change of leadership. :rolleyes:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Harrison, EN and Kearny are in deep financial trouble. Loss of state aid will lead to massive tax hikes which can not be afforded by taxpayers, many who have lost their jobs and are on fixed incomes.

It's is time to stop pussyfooting around and merge the Police and Fire Depts into the West Hudson Police and Fire Depts. One Chief for both the merged depts.

A small town like Harrison and E. Newark has no business in having all these high paying positions. The days of wine and roses are over. It's time for the taxpayers to revolt and kick out their present leaders if they don't do this. :ninja:

You do realize East Newark's Fire Department is Volunteer and has no paid positions right?

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They were both political appointments. The difference is that the Kearny PD is operating in the dark ages. But, now that 15 officers have been notified that they are being demoted, that has to change. You could save money if you put civilian dispatchers on desk duty at less then half the cost. Maybe its time for the Kearny Chief to retire. He's been there long enough. It's time for a change of leadership. :rolleyes:

A way to save the town some money and keep fire and police on duty, is have a centralized dispatch center. Money for these centers are easily available through federal grants. Union city and Bayonne both got them. You have civilians answering 911, police , and fire calls and dispatch them accordingly. A police super is with them. By doing this you have an extra fire fighter for calls, and you have extra police out on the street.

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A way to save the town some money and keep fire and police on duty, is have a centralized dispatch center. Money for these centers are easily available through federal grants. Union city and Bayonne both got them. You have civilians answering 911, police , and fire calls and dispatch them accordingly. A police super is with them. By doing this you have an extra fire fighter for calls, and you have extra police out on the street.

Harrison already has civilians that dispatch the police and fire and the ambulances since 2002. EN has civilian dispatchers. Kearny is operating in the dark ages with a Lt. and Ptlm. on desk duty doing the police dispatching and the Fire Dept. does the same.If your talking about 1 dispatch center for the 3 towns that would save money. In the past, The Kearny PBA has fought against having civiliab disoatchers, but they have their own interests in mind and not the taxpayers.

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Harrison already has civilians that dispatch the police and fire and the ambulances since 2002. EN has civilian dispatchers. Kearny is operating in the dark ages with a Lt. and Ptlm. on desk duty doing the police dispatching and the Fire Dept. does the same.If your talking about 1 dispatch center for the 3 towns that would save money. In the past, The Kearny PBA has fought against having civiliab disoatchers, but they have their own interests in mind and not the taxpayers.

Actually most of the members of the kearny pba wan't civilian dispatchers. There should be 2 of them at all times, with one police supervisior. Its the people in charge who won't do it, because its always been done that way, and change is frightening to the department. Kearny Police can't even wear tactical uniforms. Still stuck in the stone age.

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Actually most of the members of the kearny pba wan't civilian dispatchers. There should be 2 of them at all times, with one police supervisior. Its the people in charge who won't do it, because its always been done that way, and change is frightening to the department. Kearny Police can't even wear tactical uniforms. Still stuck in the stone age.

What is the need for the KPD to wear tactical uniforms?

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Harrison should immediately start laying-off or completely doing away with a paid fire dept. Enough is enough. The only reason is hasn't been done, which is going to be fatal fiscal mismanagement, is becuase multiple family members of Harrisons reigning monarchy are the recipients of the way out line pay. McDonough has long hated the the police and loves the fireman, the HFD represent the children he never had due to selfishness (he wouldn't even share his money with offspring of his own), much like lonely people adopting and spoiling dogs. A 24% tax increase is unconscienable to a family with children or to senior citizens. You were informed before the election of this but voted for him anyway. Somtimes you just get what you ask for, but too late for buyers remorse. Pay your huge 24% increase and then the Mayor will start on next years increase starting at probably 10% without add-ons which will add another 10%. Any person paying as much in taxes per month as they do in taxes should have their head examined for brain injury. You do not see anyone around town hall, including the Mayor, complaining because they don't live in Harrison, they only take your hard earned money down the shore and to the suburbs. You won't even be able to sell your houses because anyone with a brain will see the tax situation and run, and rents are going to have to rise to pay the increases so renters are also going to leave. Count on it.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest KPDBlue

What does Detritus mean? Harrison doesn't want Kearny and all their high ranking officers. You have 3 Deputy Chiefs all working days. What do they do?

We have civilians on desk duty at half the cost while you have a Lt. and Ptlm.

We have a lower crime rate with less officers. We have updated policies and procedures while your still working in the dark ages. We have an efficient traffic dept while you have guys that hang around the office. It would cost us more. We are more efficient then the Kearny Pd and provide better services to the public.We have a Chief who has a college education and went to the FBI Academy and West Pt. Leadership and command. What's your Chiefs qualifications.

No, you get me completely Wrong....The Detritus i spoke of isnt the Harrison COPS...we've known and worked with them for decades in most cases, with a few exceptions they are all great, hard-working guys. No, I was speaking of the "Citizens" (yeah...riiiight :rolleyes: ) of Harrison. Kearny has MORE than enough Scumbags without adding a few Dozen Thousand more to deal with. As for the rest of your Silliness..Last I looked Harrison PD guys were looking to transfer HERE, not the other way around. Since you seem to be so Familiar with our Policies and procedures, why dont you enlighten me SPECIFICALLY as to where we are in the "Dark Ages"??

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The reality of todays economic times is things are not going to get better for a long time. The economy is still far from bottoming out. In these times, out of necessity, people get the extra few years out of the old car instead of buying a new one, make due with old appliances instead of getting new ones, and so on. The commodities are simply not affordable. They concentrate on necessities. In Harrison's case, a $5 million dollar fire dept. for 42 men is not a commodity that is fiscally responsible. If they shut down the fire dept. for a week or longer without publicizing it the people when asked if there was any difference in their lives, they would say, "I didn't even notice." Conversely, if the Police Dept. were shut down for even a day, there would be panic when they called for help any they were told that the Police Dept. had been closed. Yet most cities and towns terminate Police positions as a bandaid solution and there is rarely mentioned any terminations at the fire depts. This is , in my opinion, the fact that fireman's jobs handed to underachievers are mostly patronage and nepotism welfare that the greedy politicians will not take away due to hurting family and friends, not the residents.. A 42 man fire dept. is a commodity that the town of Harrison cannot afford at the rate of $100k to $150k a year per man. The risk/return ratio is 100% in the red. The waste of this money needs drastic attention. This goes for every town, not just Harrison. McDonough has a history of coveting the fireman as his own children while hating and villanizing the Police. One man's biases should not be a reason for financial ruin for the residents. It's just dead wrong. The people are going to have to speak up and stem this $5 million bleeding a year and go to the Governor. I am sure he has already noticed this. Good luck.

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Guest Harrison's Bravest

The reality of todays economic times is things are not going to get better for a long time. The economy is still far from bottoming out. In these times, out of necessity, people get the extra few years out of the old car instead of buying a new one, make due with old appliances instead of getting new ones, and so on. The commodities are simply not affordable. They concentrate on necessities. In Harrison's case, a $5 million dollar fire dept. for 42 men is not a commodity that is fiscally responsible. If they shut down the fire dept. for a week or longer without publicizing it the people when asked if there was any difference in their lives, they would say, "I didn't even notice." Conversely, if the Police Dept. were shut down for even a day, there would be panic when they called for help any they were told that the Police Dept. had been closed. Yet most cities and towns terminate Police positions as a bandaid solution and there is rarely mentioned any terminations at the fire depts. This is , in my opinion, the fact that fireman's jobs handed to underachievers are mostly patronage and nepotism welfare that the greedy politicians will not take away due to hurting family and friends, not the residents.. A 42 man fire dept. is a commodity that the town of Harrison cannot afford at the rate of $100k to $150k a year per man. The risk/return ratio is 100% in the red. The waste of this money needs drastic attention. This goes for every town, not just Harrison. McDonough has a history of coveting the fireman as his own children while hating and villanizing the Police. One man's biases should not be a reason for financial ruin for the residents. It's just dead wrong. The people are going to have to speak up and stem this $5 million bleeding a year and go to the Governor. I am sure he has already noticed this. Good luck.

You really hurt my feelings Barney. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, stop by the firehouse for lunch, we'll grill you a nice filet and a couple of lobster tails. It will sure be better than those donuts you're always eating. Who loves you baby.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Let's get back to the main point of this overall topic: the towns of Kearny, East Newark, and Harrison should merge. It will be difficult and confusing, particularly because of the difficulty of the vested interests within police and fire departments and unions, other town employees, and the school systems. Ultimately though this area cannot sustain three independent towns. It entrenches horrible local officials and wastes significant money on administrative overhead (think hundreds of thousands for multiple heads superintendents, town clerks, lawyers, department heads, etc.). The transition period might be the one time the towns of Kearny and Harrison would ever be able to overcome the intransigence of the administrations and unions in eliminating paid fire departments.

The elected officials in these towns will never push for this, but locals can. The state has given us the ability to force this as a ballot issue:

http://www.nj.gov/dca/lgs/share/joint/muni_consol_act.pdf

Read up. Please someone that is not a complete idiot take up this cause!

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Guest 2smart4u

Let's get back to the main point of this overall topic: the towns of Kearny, East Newark, and Harrison should merge. It will be difficult and confusing, particularly because of the difficulty of the vested interests within police and fire departments and unions, other town employees, and the school systems. Ultimately though this area cannot sustain three independent towns. It entrenches horrible local officials and wastes significant money on administrative overhead (think hundreds of thousands for multiple heads superintendents, town clerks, lawyers, department heads, etc.). The transition period might be the one time the towns of Kearny and Harrison would ever be able to overcome the intransigence of the administrations and unions in eliminating paid fire departments.

The elected officials in these towns will never push for this, but locals can. The state has given us the ability to force this as a ballot issue:

http://www.nj.gov/dca/lgs/share/joint/muni_consol_act.pdf

Read up. Please someone that is not a complete idiot take up this cause!

Sounds like you're saying since you're a complete idiot, you're looking for help.

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Guest Liven on Reynolds Ave

Merge You say......look what happened on Route 18 in central jersey in the last snow storm,Old bridge TWP is several towns who merged,who plows the roads? It look like everyone thought someone else was plowing and it just didn't get done....Yes It will make Property Taxes go UP..more management - more people to run a big township.....someone has to pay - US! I think a small town can survive.But it has to give a little too, Saleries is what killing our town and sleeping or hidding workers. Building new Homes and giving them 10 years of No taxes is crazy, Sewer Bill is Outragous and why are we the only town in Hudson County paying for the Passaic Valley Saleries? looks like to me we need some Organization from the outside to help us along.I say go to the meetings, Vote and Help Our Town Help itself.get off the couch and do something.

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I do not agree with the argument that because a town is slightly larger they will be unable to plow the roads. A lot of small towns weren't plowed. The size of the town is not relevant. Poor managers with a town that adds another half square mile (E. Newark) would still be poor managers without it.

And yes, a merged Harrison, Kearny, and East Newark would employ more than just any one of the individual towns as a stand alone, but I do not believe that a merged town would employ more people than the three towns currently have collectively and if they did (I assume that would be for corruption reasons, etc.) it wouldn't be at the top of the pyramid. Let's look at schools: the merged towns would have only 1 superintendent and a few assistant superintendents, only 1 board office instead of the current situation. There is several hundred thousand dollars of administrative overhead that could be cut.

If your argument is that because these areas are so corrupt you couldn't make the administrative cuts I think that is a fair one: they are pretty bad. If your argument is that the expanded school district would be too difficult for a single superintendent and a couple assistants to handle and we would be forced to employ even MORE administrative folks, I disagree: many towns are larger than the collective West Hudson towns and get by just fine (and better) than our area.

I do not agree that the extremely small towns in NJ are sustainable. Not anymore. We can't afford all the redundant administrative overhead and it creates a system ripe for corruption. (Again, that isn't to say there wouldn't be corruption or problems in a larger system, but I firmly believe it is the least bad option we currently have.)

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Because it's more comfortable sitting in the N.A. Diner wearing a "Tactical Uniform"! These cops crack you up don't they?

You are right, every other police department in the state must be wrong. There is no reason for tactical uniforms. Its better to have the officer wearing a tie, and normal pants because it is way easier to run in then wearing tactical pants which are loser fitting and gives you more range of motion. Not to mention the over all appearance of the officer looks better then it does with the normal uniform with the tie. The uniform and tie should be used for court. Just another example of a department stuck in the 60's.

Ever wonder why a lot of NJ police departments patrol vehicles have gone back to black and white in color? Its not for looks, its because the state has been giving out thousands of dollars in grant money for police vehicles, but the stipulation is the vehicles need to be black and white, because studies have been done that the vehicles stand out more and give people more of a sense of security. Kearny refused to change the color of vehicles, so the tax payers pay full price.

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