A.
There is hereby created and established in the Township
of Little Egg Harbor a police department, which shall be known as
the "Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department." The Police Department
is established in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118
et seq.
B.
The Mayor and Township Committee shall provide for
the appointment of a Chief of Police and officers and personnel, as
they shall deem necessary for the proper and efficient operation of
the Police Department. The Mayor and Township Committee shall determine
the terms of office and compensation, and prescribe the powers, functions
and duties of all such members, officers and personnel as permitted
by law.
A.
Appropriate authority.
(1)
In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118,
the Township Committee shall designate an appropriate authority to
whom the Chief of Police will be directly responsible. The Township
Committee shall designate the appropriate authority by resolution
and, in the absence of a resolution designating the appropriate authority,
the Township Committee shall act as the appropriate authority.
(2)
The appropriate authority shall be responsible to
develop appropriate rules and regulations for the government of the
Police Department and for the discipline of its members, in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.
(3)
The appropriate authority shall have such duties and
responsibilities as are set forth in N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.
B.
Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall be the
head of the Police Department, and he/she shall be directly responsible
to the appropriate authority for the efficiency and routine day-to-day
operations of the Police Department. The Chief of Police shall, pursuant
to the policies established by the appropriate authority:
(1)
Administer and enforce rules and regulations and special
emergency directives for the disposition and discipline of the Police
Department, and its officers and employees.
(2)
Have, exercise and discharge the functions, powers
and duties of the Police Department.
(3)
Prescribe the duties and assignments of all subordinates
and other personnel.
(4)
Delegate such of his/her authority as he/she may deem
necessary for the efficient operation of the Police Department, to
be exercised under his/her direction and supervision.
(5)
Report at least monthly to the appropriate authority,
in such form as shall be prescribed by the appropriate authority,
on the operation of the Police Department during the preceding month,
and make such other reports as may be requested by such authority.
C.
Such other officers and personnel as the Township
Committee deems necessary for proper operation of the Police Department.
No person shall be appointed by the Township
Committee to be a member of the Police Department until duly certified
by a licensed physician to be in good health, able-bodied, and of
sound mind; nor unless the applicant shall possess all other qualifications
as to age, residence and citizenship, as required by law.
All officers, members and employees of the Police
Department, whether full-time, part-time, temporary, or special, shall
receive only such salary, wage, or compensation as the Township Committee
may fix and determine.
Application for appointment to the Police Department
shall be in writing upon a form prescribed by the Township Committee,
and any misstatement or incomplete disclosure therein shall be sufficient
grounds for dismissal from the Department.
Appointments to the Police Department shall
be first made for a probationary period of at least one year; such
probationary period, however, shall count as service if the permanent
appointment is subsequently made in due course and immediately following
said probationary period. Such probationary appointments may be revoked
at any time within one year from the date thereof by vote of a majority
of the Township Committee.
All officers and members of the Police Department
shall have the duty and authority to preserve the peace and safety
of the Township, prevent disorders, protect public and private property,
enforce the laws of the State of New Jersey and all Township ordinances,
and perform such other duties of a similar or incidental nature as
may be from time to time assigned by the Township Committee.
Every officer and member of the Police Department
shall devote his/her whole time and attention to the business of the
Department, and he/she is expressly prohibited from following any
other calling or being employed in any other business during the hours
in which he/she is on duty. He/she may, however, accept any respectable
employment, except at a place where alcoholic beverages are sold,
at any time that he/she is not on duty, provided that such employment
shall not affect his/her efficiency as a police officer, nor reflect
adversely upon his/her character or that of the Department.
A.
All regular officers and members of the Police Department
shall hold office during good behavior, and shall not be dismissed
except for just cause and in the manner prescribed by law. In the
event of any disciplinary proceedings against any member of the Police
Department below the rank of Chief of Police, the appropriate authority,
or his/her designee, shall be the sole hearing officer and person
in charge of all such proceedings. The decision of the hearing officer
shall be final and binding. The right of appeal shall be to the New
Jersey Superior Court pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-150, or to the New
Jersey Department of Personnel pursuant to N.J.S.A. 11A:1-1 et seq.,
and as applicable.
B.
In the event of any disciplinary proceedings against
the Chief of Police, the Township Committee or its designee shall
be designated as the hearing authority and in charge of all such proceedings.
The decision of said hearing authority shall be final and binding.
The right of appeal shall be to the New Jersey Superior Court pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-150, or to the New Jersey Department of Personnel
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 11A:1-1 et seq., and as applicable.
C.
In the event the appropriate authority designates a hearing authority other than himself/herself pursuant to Subsection A above, and the designated hearing authority is an officer of the Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department (e.g., Chief of Police), only a person of greater rank than the person charged may be so designated for that purpose. If a designated hearing authority is utilized pursuant to Subsection B above for hearings involving charges against the Chief of Police, it must be the appropriate authority, or special counsel. Whenever special counsel is designated to be the hearing authority pursuant to either Subsection A or B above, prior approval must be obtained by resolution of the Township Committee.
D.
In the event a police officer or employee is to be
charged in a disciplinary action, and said police officer or employee
is subordinate to the rank of the Chief of Police, only the Chief
of Police or his/her designee may initiate such charges. In the event
the office of the Chief of Police is vacant, then the appropriate
authority, or his/her designee, shall function as the charging authority.
Failure to initiate charges when same are indicated may constitute
a neglect or dereliction of duty, but the function of the charging
authority may not be circumvented.
E.
In the event the Chief of Police is to be charged
in a disciplinary action, the appropriate authority or special counsel
named by the Township Committee to act on his/her behalf shall be
the charging authority.
F.
Whenever any person, whether police officer, special
counsel, or the appropriate authority, serves in an investigative
capacity, and/or as the charging authority relevant to a Township
Police Department disciplinary action, he/she may not thereafter be
designated, or serve as, the hearing authority in that same disciplinary
action.
G.
Any police officer or employee seeking to appeal disciplinary
charges shall do so in writing submitted to the office of the Chief
of Police. Said appeal shall be filed within five days, not including
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, of the date said charges were served
upon said police officer or employee. When charges are filed against
the Chief of Police, he/she shall, within five days, not including
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, file said appeal with the appropriate
authority. However, all police officers or employees are put on notice
that a failure to submit the required written request for an appeal
may constitute an act of insubordination and may affect the police
officer's or employee's rights pertaining to statutory time lines
and discovery proceedings, as well as other legal rights and remedies
appurtenant thereto. In either event, the appropriate authority shall
schedule a hearing in accordance with the provisions of this article
and state statute. A preliminary notice of disciplinary action served
on any police officer or employee shall contain the date, time, and
location for a prospective hearing, as required by statute. Said hearing
date may be postponed at the discretion of the hearing authority within
the statutory time lines. Any postponement beyond the statutory thirty-day
time line would generally require a waiver of the thirty-day rule
by the police officer or employee and a formal request for said postponement.
A.
The Township Committee shall, by resolution, adopt
appropriate rules and regulations for the regulation, control and
management of the Police Department as recommended by the appropriate
authority. Said rules and regulations will be in manual form and shall
be called the "Rules and Regulations of the Police Department for
the Township of Little Egg Harbor" and shall govern the conduct of,
and be binding upon, the entire membership of said Police Department,
including the Chief and all subordinates. Said rules and regulations
shall provide for penalties and forfeitures for violations thereof.
B.
The rules and regulations, which shall include all
parts of the Police Ordinance of the Code for the Township of Little
Egg Harbor, shall be distributed in manual form as follows: a serialized
copy will be issued to, and signed for, by every police officer and
employee of the Police Department. A copy will be maintained by the
Township Clerk for personnel designated as special officers, and to
provide public access to same.
C.
All police officers and employees who are assigned
a manual shall be responsible for its maintenance and care. The manual
shall remain the property of the Township, and upon separation from
the Police Department, each police officer and employee is bound to
return same to the Township. Each police officer and employee will
be responsible for the security of his/her manual, and loss of the
same may constitute neglect of duty and result in disciplinary action.
All manuals shall be kept current, and supplementary pages concerning
additions, revisions, or amendments shall be promptly and properly
inserted. No Police Department operating policies will be inserted
as part of this manual unless, and until, properly assimilated by
the appropriate authority.
D.
Each police officer, and each civilian employee, is
duty-bound to thoroughly familiarize himself/herself with the provisions
of the Police Manual. Failure to comply shall be considered neglect
of duty.
E.
In the event neglect of duty is charged against a
member for failure to observe the rules and regulations, or Police
Department procedures or orders, ignorance of any provision of this
manual will not be accepted as an excuse.
Police officers regularly employed by the Township
of Little Egg Harbor at the time of the passage of this chapter shall
continue as, and be deemed to be, members of the Police Department
of the Township of Little Egg Harbor.
[Amended 5-24-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-07]
A.
There are hereby created and continued the offices of Chief, Deputy
Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, and patrolman in the Police
Department.
B.
There are hereby created and continued the following positions which
are civilian in character: Public Safety Telecommunication Operators;
Senior Public Safety Telecommunication Operators; Public Safety Telecommunication
Operators/Typist; Senior Public Safety Telecommunication Operators/Typist;
Administrative Secretary; Clerk Typist; Clerk.
A.
Any person or entity desiring to retain the services
of police officers of the Township of Little Egg Harbor for off-duty
police-related activities shall be required to enter into a contract
with the Township of Little Egg Harbor. Said contract shall include,
but not be limited to, the nature of the duties to be performed, the
location of said duties, the date and hours of service, the rate of
payment for services of the officers, administrative fees to the Township
of Little Egg Harbor, and fees for the use of Township-owned equipment.
The Chief of Police shall require the payment of 100% of the estimated
amount due the Township for the assignment of such off-duty officer,
or officers, from the person or entity requesting such assignment,
in advance of providing such officer or officers. The Chief of Police
is hereby empowered to execute a contract for off-duty police-related
activities on behalf of the Township, in accordance with this section.
B.
The Chief of Police shall be responsible for the assignment
of all off-duty police-related activities and the billing of all compensation
due the Township. The Chief of Police shall be authorized to designate
other members of the Police Department, as needed, to assist him/her
in the assignment of off-duty police-related activities.
C.
All persons or entities shall pay to the Treasurer
of the Township such hourly sum as may be fixed from time to time
by resolution of the Township Committee, as compensation for such
service. The Township shall remit to the member of the Police Department
performing such duties 90% of said hourly rate, as predetermined from
time to time by resolution of the Township Committee, and the remaining
10% shall be retained by the Township for administrative expenses,
as established by resolution of the Township Committee.
D.
If additional work time is required due to unanticipated
circumstances, and such work is approved by the Police Chief, the
private entity shall be liable for payment to the Township for all
such additional hours worked.
E.
Any invoice from the Township for any balance due,
or a credit for any refund, if any, shall be issued by the Township
Treasurer. Payments due from a private entity shall be made within
10 days of receipt of the invoice from the Township.
F.
Each person or entity who shall employ off-duty police
officers pursuant to this section shall be responsible for maintaining
his/her or its own insurance coverage. Said insurance coverage shall
include, but not be limited to, general liability and automobile liability,
and shall name the Township of Little Egg Harbor as an additional
insured. In addition, such policy shall provide for a minimum coverage
of $1,000,000 for any one claim, or $2,000,000 for any aggregate claims.
Proof of said insurance coverage shall be provided to the Township
prior to the assignment of any off-duty police officers to said person
or entity. The person or entity shall provide for the aforementioned
for any and all officers, vehicles and/or equipment that are utilized
in the off-duty assignment.
G.
The Chief of Police, or his/her designee, shall have
the authority to order any police officer engaged in off-duty assignments
within the Township of Little Egg Harbor to respond to an emergency
situation within the Township of Little Egg Harbor. The Chief of Police,
or his/her designee, shall also have the right to order any off-duty
assignment to be terminated whenever said assignment creates an unacceptable
risk to the health, safety, and welfare of the off-duty officer and/or
the citizens of the Township of Little Egg Harbor. In the event that
a police officer is assigned to an emergency situation, the Police
Chief, or his/her designee, shall make note of said emergency situation,
as well as the time said officer was removed from said off-duty assignment.
In a situation where an off-duty police officer is called to an emergency
situation, said person or entity shall not be responsible for the
payment of the officer's hourly rate, administrative fee, or any other
fees to the Township until such time as said police officer and/or
equipment returns to the assignment with the off-duty employer.
H.
Any person or entity requesting the services of off-duty
police officers shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Township
of Little Egg Harbor for any and all claims and damages which may
arise from the off-duty police officer's employment by said person
or entity.
[Amended 9-10-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-08]
A.
All police appointees are subject to a residency preference. The
following rules shall be applicable for employment of those individuals.
The appointing authority shall classify all the duly qualified applicants
to be filled from the following classes:
B.
The appointing authority shall first appoint all those police applicants
in Class 2 and then those in each succeeding class in the above order.
