Mayor Fulop is out to change the way the city does business...again

What is this guy, trying to clean up the city along with it's image? Well that is what people voted for we suppose, an end to the Healy machine ways.

Mayor Fulop said the city is going to tighten the control of off-duty work for police in Jersey City. No longer will a company, required to hire police "protection" services at construction sites and at businesses for a myriad of reasons, be forced to pay at least four hours worth of work whether the officer was needed that long or not. In fact, so many local businesses had complained about feeling "gouged" Fulop said he had to act:

“We’ve listened to the small business owners and organizations who hire the off-duty officers and what they told us was that not only was this process arbitrary, but that the officers lacked oversight and often the business owners felt like victims of price-gouging.”

As it stands now the police themselves send officers out on these (let's face facts) 'fill the wallet' job sites (and make sure to read the article and just how lucrative these standing around jobs can be -- one cop doubled his salary!). Fulop's plan, to be voted on at next week's city council meeting would take the scheduling away from the police and give it to two civilians who will now make out the schedule. Fulop said his plan cuts down on what businesses pay and also so police protection no longer feels like an unofficial shakedown. Fulop also noted, most importantly that this will get eight policer officers back on the beat during the times they'd normally be standing outside a construction site drinking coffee with the workers.

Of course the JCPD is upset by this and there was much harumphing from their designated talker:

"We are concerned about any proposal which suggests that a civilian employee has the proper expertise to determine what is and is not a public safety issue," Carmine Disbrow, president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association.

Yes Carmine, two and three officers standing at Steuben and Marin watching trucks deliver rebar is clearly a public safety issue that only you could have foreseen. We're pretty sure when it comes to scheduling people to stand somewhere or sit in a car when it rains we don't need policing experts, just logistical folk. The mayor isn't asking for people off the streets to run the 911 system or handle emergency situations Carmine, we're just trying to become a better, more accountable city and for that Mayor Fulop has our full support.