Politics & Government
Final Report on Regional Police Force Delayed
Originally slated for March 1, data now scheduled to be released on April 1.
The final report on a proposed regional county police force won’t be released until April 1, a month after the group working on the study had hoped to present the information.
Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano and Dr. Richard Celeste announced the Prosecutor’s Task Force on Regionalized Policing would be delayed in releasing the information. The two serve as the task force’s chairman and vice chairman, respectively.
A release said the task force is waiting on a report from the seventh committee, which is chaired by Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli. The committee is in the process of collecting up-to-date financial information from municipalities and is focusing on the financial issues relating to the possible formation of a regional police department. The original subcommittees have completed their reports, but the seventh committee was only created in December.
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“I’ve said on numerous occasions in the past that the Task Force’s undertaking is gargantuan,” Soriano said in the release. “My experience with this initiative and the people involved with same has served to validate that characterization. The original six subcommittees worked tirelessly on their components of this feasibility investigation for nearly a full year. Once a model for a countywide force was developed by these original subcommittees, the necessary information was in place for our newest subcommittee to analyze certain budgetary issues.”
The task force, officially constituted on February 17, 2011, is the third phase by officials in Somerset County to examine an opportunity for a countywide police department. Phase two, which culminated in December 2010, included a police consolidation model prepared by consultant Thomas Banker. The release said the projected potential savings was upwards of $18 million dollars for a regionalized force.
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“While there is a slight delay, with an analysis this significant, what’s most important is that it be done right,” Celeste said in the release. “Most of the substantive work is finished, and it is anticipated that the newly formed subcommittee will complete its financial review is the upcoming weeks.”
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