Thursday, January 6, 2011

Here's hoping Jersey City and the police union can hammer out a deal

Because we'd sure love to have those extra 82 police officers on the streets, especially after we see roving cars full of Newark tuffs committing crimes in Jersey City and really putting an onus on the JCPD. We do not want Newark's nere-do-wells looking at Jersey City as an easy mark.

Pay lag (it's a complicated formula says the JCPD union, you can read on it here) and uniform allowances seem to be the final two sticking points. The Jersey City Desk is actually behind Mayor Healy's decision to NOT dip into a $2.8 million dollar tax abatement to help the officers pay for uniforms. Healy rightly points out that money is spoken for and is being returned to the Jersey City taxpayers.

So the Jersey City Desk is hopeful if these are indeed the last couple of issues to keep these 82 officers on patrol a deal can be hammered out. Jersey City needs a lot of police protection but our support of the police union isn't a blank check either.

Get it done people, get it done.

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