As reported by nj.com, officials had considered disbanding or reducing the size of the full-time, Franklin Township Police Department in favor of contracting police service from a neighboring municipality, one of a string of changes being considered to help control taxes. “We’ve reached an agreement to keep our police department for this budget year,” Mayor Scott Bauman said at Franklin Township’s Committee meeting. But, he cautioned that concessions from the police guarantee the department’s survival “for this budget year only.”

The change threw a wrench into the township’s proposed $2.6 million 2011 budget, which officials had originally expected to approve. Because it will have to be substantially modified, it will be re-introduced at another public meeting that has been scheduled for May 12. Township Auditor William Colantano said it will have two or three pages of “major amendments.”

Officials were mum about what the budget changes will be, where money for additional spending will come from or whether the revised spending plan will include a property tax increase. Committeeman Robert McGeary said that the new agreement with police is not complete. “Paperwork and details will follow,” he said, but “an understanding is in place.” Patrolman Craig Santoro, who is representing the police union in its negotiations with officials, said the extent of union concessions “are not yet known.”

“The public has a right to know where the money is coming from,” said Charlie Mathews, a former Township Committeeman. George Burdick, another former committeeman, told officials, “formulating your budget is a very public process…you’re now withdrawing from that process.”

Committeewoman Susan Campbell said money and savings to retain police will come from a combination of places.   Other potential cost-savings measures being considered by the Township Committee include a plan to phase in a requirement that employees pay an increasing share of their health care costs, and reducing the open space tax. Last night, the committee voted to increase fees for construction applications and inspections.

Tags: Articles, consolidation, Franklin Township, NJ Municipal Police, NJ Police
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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