Hoboken's police have never been properly deployed. There were 8 cops guarding Sushi Lounge while someone is being mugged at gunpoint on Adams St.

Hoboken is One square mile. They have 2 large Police Stations and I know of at least 3 Fire Stations. Remember when they had a SWAT Team? I have even seen a Division of Carpentry van driving around. It really is a patronage city, totally corrupt.

Quote:

"We will be laying off the most nonessential, repetitive or duplicate positions anywhere," Tripodi said. "This is to create savings for the 2010 budget."

Which, of course, begs the question as to why there are nonessential, repetitive, and duplicate positions to begin with.

Hoboken proposes laying off police, fire & city employees

by Carly Baldwin/The Jersey Journal
Thursday March 19, 2009

In an attempt to save the city money and bring down the recently-passed $123.8 million budget, administration in Hoboken is calling for the layoffs of an undisclosed number of city employees in the police and fire departments, as well as elsewhere throughout the city.

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LAYOFFS LOOM
State monitor targets Hoboken police, fire

Friday, March 20, 2009
By CARLY BALDWIN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

HOBOKEN - More layoffs are looming for Hoboken - and this time they'll be in the Police and Fire departments.

Hoboken's fiscal monitor Judy Tripodi filed a layoff plan with the state Department of Personnel on Wednesday that includes "a reduction in force of uniformed and non-uniformed personnel and demotions in public safety."

Tripodi declined to say exactly how many city workers - including police officers and firefighters - would be let go; or the exact amount of savings she expected.

But in an interview yesterday she said the plan to downsize would affect less than 10 percent of the city's workforce.

"We will be laying off the most nonessential, repetitive or duplicate positions anywhere," Tripodi said. "This is to create savings for the 2010 budget."

The budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30 is $123.8 million and Tripodi is bent on having next fiscal year's budget even lower.

News of the layoffs, and that firefighters and police officers could be included, apparently took several officials by surprise.

Public Safety Director Bill Bergin declined to comment yesterday, saying he hadn't seen the actual numbers of people to be laid off.

Vince Lombardi, president of the Hoboken Police Officers Benevolent Association, was "shocked."

"I am furious she (Tripodi) did this without consulting the union heads," Lombardi said.

"I plan to aggressively challenge her authority. Right now, we are understaffed 19 patrol officers. Any cuts or layoffs would seriously affect public safety in Hoboken. But she doesn't care," Lombardi added.

Coupled with the early retirements and the seven provisional employees who were laid off in January, these layoffs would bring Hoboken's municipal workforce to some of its lowest numbers in a long time, Tripodi said.

The layoffs and demotions are the result of a preliminary financial audit of the city's departments and entire workforce, she said.

Several council members have asked to see the result of that audit, but Tripodi said the audit is still in draft and anticipates it will be shared with the council on April 1 - the same day negotiations on new contracts are set to begin with the city's six labor unions.

Tripodi is now waiting on the state Department of Personnel to approve the plan. The DOP usually has 30 days to decide, but Tripodi requested the process be shortened to 15 days.

"The sooner the people leave, the greater the savings are," Tripodi said yesterday.

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Fire Dept. shakeup for savings

Friday, March 20, 2009
By MOLLY GRIFFIN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

To pare costs, Bayonne officials have announced plans to change the table of organization of the Fire Department.

The big changes reduce the number of captains from 42 to 11, eliminate one of four current deputy fire chief slots, and reinstate the rank of lieutenant, which was done away with in 2004 and which presumably several current captains would be lowered to.

The proposed changes - which would save the city an estimated $350,000 annually - are part of Mayor Mark Smith's effort to trim the Fire Department's $15.5 million budget by $2 million, in the face of the city's $33 million deficit, Business Administrator Peter Cresci told the City Council on Wednesday.

The new table of organization would allow for one fire chief, up to three deputy chiefs, no more than five battalion chiefs, up to 11 captains, 29 lieutenants and up to 140 firefighters.

Cresci told the council the change in the table of organization would avoid layoffs in the department and that the city is considering a similar plan for the Police Department.

Sixteen firefighters were included in a layoff plan the city recently submitted to the State Civil Service Commission. This plan could avoid those layoffs, Cresci said.

Fire Chief Gregory Rogers declined to comment on the plan, as did firefighter supervisors union president Brian McMonagle.

Although council members complained they were handed the ordinance late, they voted unanimously to introduce it.

"We're looking at everything," said Council President Vincent Lo Re. "That's what we must do."

Councilman Anthony Chiappone said the proposed ordinance crossed his desk just before the meeting.

"Given the implications it has on negotiations with the Fire Department as well as the budget, that's why we did allow it to be put on the agenda last night," Chiappone said yesterday.

The council is scheduled to vote on adoption of the ordinance at its next meeting on April 29.