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City of Northfield, NJ
Atlantic County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (1) Index
[Adopted 12-12-2006 by Ord. No. 14-2006 (Ch. 35, Art. IV, of the 1974 Code)]
The Mayor of the City of Northfield, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118, shall appoint the Chief of Police and such other officers as may be required, subject to the confirmation of said appointments by the City Council. In accordance with its obligation to have appointments based upon merit and fitness, the Council of the City of Northfield will confirm only those officers who have successfully taken and completed a promotional examination as herein set forth.
A. 
Examinations will be conducted for all promotions to the rank of Sergeant and above.
B. 
Only those officers deemed eligible by these procedures will be permitted to take part in the promotional examinations. (See § 61-24 for eligibility.)
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
C. 
All promotional examinations will consist of all the elements as outlined in § 61-25 of these procedures.
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
D. 
Administration of these procedures will be in conformance with the guidelines outlined herein and in accordance with specific test rules as outlined in § 61-26.
E. 
Officers who suffer from a demotion in rank for just cause other than for budgetary reasons shall not be permitted to take a promotional examination for a period of three years beginning when the demotion takes effect. Any officer so demoted for disciplinary reasons, upon repromotion, shall not retain any seniority rights owing to that rank.
F. 
All qualified officers will be considered for all promotions for which they are eligible, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, politics or personal favoritism, except as may be properly permitted by law.
G. 
The written and oral examinations for each rank will be conducted by the Examination Committee as provided for in § 61-25 of these procedures. The Examination Committee shall be appointed by the Mayor.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection H, regarding joint participation by the Mayor and Chief of Police, was repealed 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016.
To qualify to sit for the promotional examination, one must comply with the following eligibility requirements:
A. 
To sit for the Sergeant's examination, a candidate shall:
(1) 
Have served as a patrolman of the City of Northfield Police Department.
(2) 
Be a present member of the City of Northfield Police Department.
(3) 
Have served as a full-time member of the City of Northfield Police Department for at least three years continuously next preceding the examination date.
(4) 
As an individual applicant, not have any more than three upheld suspensions for the three years immediately preceding the date of the promotional examination.
B. 
To be eligible to sit for examination for rank of Lieutenant, Captain or Chief of Police, a candidate shall:
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
(1) 
Have served as a patrolman in the City of Northfield Police Department.
(2) 
Be a present member of the City of Northfield Police Department.
(3) 
Have served as a full-time member of the City of Northfield Police Department for at least five years continuously next preceding the examination date.
(4) 
Have held the rank of Sergeant or above in the City of Northfield Police Department for at least two years, including acting and permanent time, which must be continuous and uninterrupted, next preceding the date of the written examination.
(5) 
As an individual applicant, not have any more than three upheld suspensions for the three years immediately preceding the date of the promotional examination.
Once determined to be eligible for promotion, the following criteria will be utilized by the City to determine which officer will be promoted. A maximum score of 100 points will be possible. All tests and point allocation shall be prepared and administered in accordance with the guidelines as set forth herein. The City of Northfield reserves the right to choose one of the top three scoring candidates.
A. 
Written test.
(1) 
The written test shall consist of law enforcement material related to the rank being tested for as determined by the Examination Committee. Each officer taking the written examination must be given the exact same test.
(2) 
A maximum of 20 points shall be allocated according to the following schedule:
Score
Number of Points
95 to 100
20
90 to 94
17
85 to 89
14
80 to 84
11
75 to 79
8
70 to 74
5
Below
B. 
Oral test.
(1) 
The oral test shall consist of 10 questions prepared by the Examination Committee just prior to the time of the test. Questions must be related to the law enforcement profession and for the rank being tested for as determined by the Examination Committee. Each officer taking the oral examination must be asked exactly the same questions.
(2) 
A maximum of 20 points shall be allocated according to the following schedule:
Score
Number of Points
95 to 100
20
90 to 94
17
85 to 89
14
80 to 84
11
75 to 79
8
70 to 74
5
Below
C. 
Job performance.
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
(1) 
Evaluations shall be in the following two areas of officer performance (as noted in Police Policy and Procedures) and shall be conducted in accordance with § 61-26F):
(a) 
The officer's demonstrated leadership and responsibility.
(b) 
The officer's demonstrated job knowledge.
(2) 
These are the two areas to be considered in evaluating the officer's performance.
(3) 
A total of 20 points to be allocated for job performance may range from zero to 20 points. The evaluations, as explained in this section, are not bound to the following breakdown, but, rather, this is presented merely as a guide:
Evaluation
Number of Points
Excellent
20
Good
15
Fair
10
Needs improvement
5
Poor
D. 
Seniority.
(1) 
Credit will be given for each year of completed full-time police service as a police officer with the City of Northfield Police Department.
(2) 
A maximum of 20 points will be allocated, with one point given for each year of service.
E. 
College achievement. For obtaining the advantages of a higher education from an accredited college or university, a maximum of 10 points shall be allocated, according to the following schedule:
Number of Credited Hours/Degree
Number of Points
32
2
64/Associate's
4
96
6
128/Bachelor's
8
160/Master's
10
F. 
Personal interview.
(1) 
Each eligible candidate will be interviewed by the Mayor, the City Administrator and the Chief of Police. Considerations under this criteria shall include at least the following:
(a) 
Performance by the candidate in the oral interview.
(b) 
Leadership abilities of the applicant.
(c) 
Decisionmaking abilities of the applicant.
(2) 
A maximum of 10 points will be allocated for the personal interview based upon the aforementioned criteria.
(3) 
In the event the examination is for the Chief of Police, each eligible candidate will be interviewed by the Mayor, City Administrator and Council President.
[Added 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
All tests shall be conducted in accordance with the following rules and regulations:
A. 
Promotion tests will be conducted on weekdays between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., preferably at a municipally owned building.
B. 
A notice of the test must be posted on the Police Department bulletin board for at least 30 days prior to the test date.
C. 
Any officer who is eligible and wants to take the test must notify the Chief and Mayor in writing at least seven days prior to the date of the test. If the examination is for the Chief of Police, any officer who is eligible and wants to take the test must notify the Mayor in writing at least seven days prior to the date of the test.
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
D. 
Any officer scheduled to take a promotional test may be excused from duty for 24 hours prior to the time of the test without pay or compensatory time.
E. 
All employees who take the test will be allowed to see their own tests and the grades received after the official results are announced and posted and within 14 days of such posting.
F. 
Job performance evaluations will be completed by the Chief. Evaluations will be compiled on the supervisor rating form designed for evaluating police officers in determining point allocation. The Chief will base his evaluations of officers by generally acceptable police standards and comparison among other officers taking the promotional examination. Standardly accepted evaluation techniques, i.e., ranking, paired comparisons, etc., shall be used in evaluating officers. If the examination is for the Chief of Police, the evaluation shall be done by the Mayor using similar forms and standards as described herein.
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
G. 
The written and oral test will be given by an impartial Examination Committee. It is the full responsibility of the Examination Committee to determine the content and confidentiality of the examination with the guidelines as provided for by these procedures.
H. 
At least two Chiefs or examiners will be required to administer the written and oral tests. No one conducting the testing may reside or be employed in Atlantic County or have any personal knowledge of any of the candidates taking the examinations.
I. 
Scoring and grading of the written and oral test results will be completed by the Examination Committee.
J. 
The Examination Committee will forward the test results and the grades received for the written and oral tests by sealed envelope to the Chief and Mayor within five working days of the completion of the examinations. If the examination is for the Chief of Police, the test results shall be sent to the Mayor.
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
K. 
The Mayor, along with the Chief, the City Administrator and a Police Committee representative, will take the test results which were forwarded by the Examination Committee and compute, according to the point schedule established in these procedures, all points earned in the written and oral portions. They will add those points due each officer according to the schedule for job performance, seniority and college achievement and personal interview. The complete total of accumulated points will be the officer's score for promotional purposes. Officers must receive a minimum score of 50 total accumulated points to be considered for promotion. If the examination is for the Chief of Police, then the Mayor, City Administrator and Police Committee Representative will execute the process set forth above.
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
L. 
The Chief and Mayor shall have the responsibility of selecting the officer to be promoted from among the three top-scoring candidates. In the event that the Chief and Mayor cannot agree on the selection as indicated above, then a committee consisting of the Mayor, Chief, City Administrator and the Council members of the Police Committee shall make the selection of the officer to be promoted. If the examination is for the Chief of Police, then the Mayor and the Council President shall have the responsibility of selecting the officer to be promoted from among the top-scoring candidates. If the Mayor and Council President cannot agree, then a committee consisting of the Mayor, Council President, City Administrator and Council members of the Police Committee shall make the selection of the officer to be promoted.
[Amended 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 11-2016]
M. 
All test results will remain effective for a period of three years. Therefore, if any additional promotions are made within that three-year period of time, said promotions shall be made from the next top three individuals on the promotional list.
Promotions to positions on the Police Department and force shall be based upon merit as determined by suitable promotion tests for such positions; provided, however, that a resident shall be appointed rather than a nonresident thereof in any instance in which the resident and nonresident achieved the same final average score in such test.