[Amended 2-10-2004 by Ord. No. 04-03]
Said Police Department shall consist of one Chief of Police, one Captain, one Lieutenant, two Detectives or Detective Sergeants, four Patrol Sergeants, one School Resource Officer, and 11 patrol officers, and such civilian employees as may be deemed necessary and appropriate by the Borough Administrator in his discretion and judgment with the approval of the Mayor and Council. The Borough Administrator and/or Mayor and Council may, from time to time, leave one or more of the above positions vacant, as they see fit. The express purpose for renaming these offices is to establish a statutory line of authority from all police employees to a higher elected authority. Whenever any such office is intentionally left vacant, it will be deemed not to exist and will be passed in the chain of command. The Chief of Police, with the approval of the Mayor and Council, may therefore re-create or resurrect an office that has been so abolished by naming a person to fill said office. No personnel may be appointed to the Borough of Hillsdale Police Department until they have satisfied all statutory requirements and have complied with the selection process and standards established by the Rules and Regulations adopted by the appropriate authority to govern said Police Department.
A. 
Appropriate authority. The Borough of Hillsdale Police Department shall come under the jurisdiction of the appropriate authority, which is hereby created pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118. Said appropriate authority shall be the Borough Administrator. The appropriate authority shall be directly responsible to the Mayor and Council. The Chief of Police shall be responsible for the operation of the Police Department pursuant to policies established by said Borough Administrator and shall be responsible for the promulgation, updating and/or ratification of Rules and Regulations for police personnel which shall be known as the "Rules and Regulations for the Police Department of the Borough of Hillsdale."
B. 
Hearing authority.
(1) 
In the event of any disciplinary proceedings against any member of the Police Department of the Borough of Hillsdale, the Borough Administrator or his/her designee shall be the sole hearing officer and person in charge of all such proceedings.
(2) 
Nothing herein shall prevent the Borough Administrator from designating a hearing officer for the purpose of conducting the hearing, receiving evidence, preparing a record and submitting findings and a proposed recommendation of penalty to the appointing authority.
C. 
Charging authority. Only the Chief of Police or his designee may initiate disciplinary charges against any member of the Police Department pursuant to the powers vested in said office by this chapter.
A. 
Any employee seeking to appeal disciplinary charges shall do so in writing submitted to the Office of the Borough Administrator. Said appeal shall be filed in writing within five business days, not including Saturday, Sunday and legal holiday, from the date said disciplinary charges were served upon the employee.
B. 
The Borough Administrator or designee shall schedule a hearing no sooner than 10 calendar days nor later than 30 calendar days from the date of service of the charges upon the employee.
C. 
Any preliminary notice of disciplinary action served upon any employee shall contain the date, time and location of the hearing on the charges.
The Chief of Police, as the executive head of the Police Department, shall be charged with the duties of supervising and directing the Police Department and shall be directly responsible to the Borough Administrator for the efficiency and operation of the Police Department.
The Chief of Police of the Borough of Hillsdale shall:
A. 
Administer and enforce the Rules and Regulations of the Police Department and any special emergency directive for the disposition and discipline of the Department and its officers and members.
B. 
Have, exercise and discharge the functions, powers and duties of the chief executive officer of the Police Department.
C. 
Prescribe the duties and assignments of all members and officers.
D. 
Delegate such authority as may be deemed necessary for the efficient operation of the Police Department to be exercised under the direction and control of the Borough Administrator.
The Chief of Police shall submit monthly reports to the Borough Administrator concerning the operation of the Police Department during the preceding month in such form as shall be prescribed by the Borough Administrator. The Chief of Police shall make such other reports as may be requested by the Mayor and Council.
[Amended 7-12-2017 by Ord. No. 17-10[1]; 9-5-2017 by Ord. No. 17-17; 8-6-2019 by Ord. No. 19-14; 2-4-2020 by Ord. No. 20-03; 12-8-2020 by Ord. No. 20-14; 10-11-2022 by Ord. No. 22-16]
A. 
Pursuant to the authority granted by N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118, the Borough of Hillsdale hereby establishes a Police Department in and for the Borough of Hillsdale, New Jersey, to consist of the following positions, and the maximum number of individuals assigned to each respective rank, as follows:
(1) 
Chief of Police: one.
(2) 
Captain: one.
(3) 
Lieutenant: one.
(4) 
Sergeant: six.
(5) 
Patrol officers: 14.
(6) 
Class I Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEO I), who are special law enforcement officers authorized to perform routine traffic details, spectator control and other similar duties. Class I officers shall be empowered to issue summonses for disorderly persons and petty disorderly person's offenses, violations of municipal ordinances and violations of Title 39. Class I officers are not authorized to carry a firearm and shall not be assigned to any duty which may require the carrying of a firearm. Such officers are subject to the qualifications and provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.10 et seq., including terms of office.
(7) 
Class II Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEO II), who are special law enforcement officers authorized to exercise full police powers and duties similar to those of a permanent, regularly appointed full-time police officer. Class II officers may only carry a firearm while engaged in the actual performance of the officer's official duties and when specifically authorized by the Chief of Police. Such officers are subject to the qualifications and provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.10 et seq., including terms of office.
(8) 
Class III Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEO III), who are retired regular police officers and who may from time to time be appointed and shall serve at the pleasure of the governing body for a term not to exceed one year, which officers shall not be members of the regular police force but shall nevertheless be under the control and supervision of the Chief of Police for use solely as school security officers as detailed in N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.10 et seq., as necessary.
B. 
This section shall not be construed as establishing any right on the part of any member or members of the Police Department to appointment to any position within the Department, nor shall it be construed as terminating or interrupting any period of service or tenure of any member of the Hillsdale Police Department. The existence and continuance of any of the above-specified offices and the number of appointees to each such office shall be determined by the governing body as it may, from time to time, in its sole discretion, deem reasonably necessary for the efficient and effective operation of the Department.
C. 
The Borough Administrator of the Borough of Hillsdale shall be deemed to be the "appropriate authority" for purposes of the Borough Code and N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also amended the title of this section, which was formerly "Graphic table of organization."
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118, the Chief of Police shall issue any operations orders, general orders or standard operating procedures or policies as the Borough Administrator deems necessary for the efficiency and operation of the Police Department.
Nothing contained herein shall infringe upon or limit the duty and authority of the Chief of Police to act to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the municipality in an emergency through special emergency directives pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118 and 40A:14-146.9.
The Borough Administrator shall with the approval and consent of the Mayor and Council appoint civilian members to the Police Department to serve in the capacity of dispatcher. Said civilian employees will provide dispatch services, clerical duties and logistical services in support of the Police Department and shall perform other duties as specified by the Chief of Police.