Chief: Sparta's thin blue line stretched thinner

Sparta - Sparta’s police chief is asking the township for more manpower come next year, but it remains to be seen whether or not that request can be met. “I’m not asking today for personnel,” said Chief of Police Ernest Reigstad, addressing the Sparta Council members at the July 12 meeting. He was asking, however, that the council seriously consider the police department’s staffing needs in its 2007 budget preparations. Mayor Manny Goldberg said he expects the move into the new municipal building will offer some “operational efficiencies” that will translate into savings for all the departments, including the police department. “Hopefully, those efficiencies can be weighted to dollar savings, which then can provide the kind of funds we need to pay for additional personnel,” said Goldberg. According to Reigstad, the township already paid for two past studies that looked at the staffing needs of the department, both of which concluded that more manpower was needed. “We’ve never met the numbers they have suggested,” said Reigstad. According to the chief, the shortage in manpower is affecting the way the department is run. “Where in 1986 supervisors were supervising, today they’re answering calls,” said Reigstad. According to results of a recent study for the Municipal Alliance, which included a sampling of police departments in Sussex, Morris, Essex and Monmouth counties, Sparta lags behind in addressing its patrol staffing needs, as compared to its increased call volume. “Since 1986, the department’s call volume has more than doubled. Our officers handle the highest volume of calls in the county,” said Reigstad. While the chief said the department still has a very good response rate on serious calls, he is concerned about customer service and maintaining a good relationship with Sparta’s citizenry. “The higher the call volume, the less time officers have to spend responding to community service-oriented calls,” he said. He added that, years ago, calls involving criminal mischief complaints could be responded to within minutes, whereas today there’s a lag time of sometimes two hours or more. The demographics also have changed in the last 20 years, adding to the strain on the department’s resources. In recent years, certain areas within Sparta have realized rapid population growth. While the Lake Mohawk region only has seen an eight percent increase in population, “There’s been a 55 percent increase in the number of people per square mile up on the Glen Road area, and 33 percent in the West Mountain Road area,” said Reigstad. The additional residents not only contribute to an increased call volume, but the time it takes officers to respond to a resident’s call is lengthened, given the distance that must be covered. Those growing neighborhoods now have patrols assigned to them, according to Reigstad, but they often must be called off to answer other calls in other areas because of the manpower shortage. “We’ve added eight people to our police department, since 1986. Only four of those are patrols,” said Reigstad, explaining that two others are school resource officers hired under a federal grant, with the remaining two consisting of a DARE officer and internal affairs officer, the last position being state-mandated. The last four officers added to the patrol division were added two years ago. In looking at ways to fund the requested personnel increase, Sparta may have some options, including an anticipated salary surplus that became available after a veteran member of the force retired. The officer will be replaced by a cadet scheduled to enter the academy in August. The officer leaving was paid a salary of $64,000, whereas his replacement will be hired at a starting rate of $33,000 a year. The chief is hoping that some of the surplus realized in paying the new lower salary can be used toward hiring additional personnel for the department. Looking to next year, Township Manager Henry Underhill pointed out that “in July 2007, a sergeant will be retiring at the top of his pay class, which may make it easier to make something happen next year.” Another possibility for funding future staff needs in the police department is through state assistance. According to Goldberg, Trenton might make additional aid available to municipalities next year, aid for which he hopes Sparta will qualify. With or without help from the state, Sparta’s council members will have to reach a consensus as to what its police department says it needs to function. Discussions on the 2007 budget are scheduled to commence in September.