Close-knit neighborhoods, a variety of housing styles and tons of amenities are among the reasons you should move to the North Jersey town of Clifton.
CLIFTON -- The city has agreed to hire a dozen more police officers, even though the number is lower than what was sought by police officials.
The city's leaders have also agreed to increase the police department's table of organization by the same number after many discussions with police officials. The two sides have debated on the right number of police officers needed in the city over the last year, ending last week with the decision to hire 12 more.
Police Chief Thomas Rinaldi said ideally, using FBI guidelines, a city of Clifton's size should have 225 officers. That number, however, appears to be unattainable because of budget considerations, the city said.
Council members agreed to a compromise and added 12 officers to the table of organization after receiving a memo from Rinaldi.
In recent months, the council, at the behest of Councilman Joseph Kolodziej, discussed increasing the table of organization, which currently sits at 171 officers, to 195. That, too, was deemed to be too expensive and his motion failed.
The city noted that retirements and officers leaving for higher-paying police departments have made it difficult to maintain staffing levels.
Last Wednesday, citing the chief's memo, the council reconsidered and instructed the administration to create a measure to increase the table of organization to 183. That number could go up or down until the ordinance is formally introduced and adopted.
Newly reelected Councilman Chris D'Amato said that while he was campaigning this fall, he learned that just about everyone agrees the city needs more police officers.
To officially change the table, an ordinance will need to be heard twice before it can be passed. The city's intent is to increase the table in time for the next round of budget talks in early 2025. The goal is to have it approved in time to conduct the vetting and psychological evaluations of new hires in time for the spring academy class.
The extra officers are much needed, Clifton Mayor Ray Grabowski said.
"Clifton needs and deserves more law enforcement," he said. "This is a great opportunity to give greater protection to our residents."
Why had the Clifton Police Department lost officers?
For most of the last decade, the department has suffered from a steady drain of officers who left the department due to the disparity of wages between the city and many of the region's other departments.
Rinaldi noted that the recent PBA contract and perhaps the next, which was introduced last Wednesday, is expected to do much to address the attrition rate.
In Rinaldi's memo, he said nine of the newly hired officers are headed to the Passaic County Police Academy, while the other three, who come from other departments, are expected to be "road ready" next month.
The three new officers are from the Kinnelon and Paterson police departments and the Passaic County Sheriff's Department. They will be ready to go next month, along with five others hired in September.
The nine who are attending the academy are expected to be ready by mid-May 2025.
"This recent hiring has brought our table of organization up to 170 officers," the chief told City Manager Nick Villano.
Police officials note that while the current department's manpower stands at 170, its effective strength is closer to 152 due to officers attending the academy, those in field training, officers on medical leave, military leave, injured or on light duty.
Over the last decade, the size of the department has gradually crept up to its current staffing levels. According to policescorecard.org, in 2014 the department was authorized at 149 officers.
By 2019, it was authorized to have 153, which increased to 164 by 2021. After adding police body cameras that year, the city increased the number to 167 to accommodate the need for additional officers to manage the use and storage of body cameras.
Whatever the number, Rinaldi said, the council should consider making the changes sooner rather than later. Passaic County's police academy offers two classes per year. It needs to start vetting officers soon so they can be assured to send enough officers to the academy.