Heights Takes Further Steps Towards Police Promotions

Promotions within the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department may be in the not too far off future.

Tuesday night the governing body introduced an ordinance defining the number of higher ranking positions to be allowed within the department - one Chief, two Captains, four Lieutenants and eight Sergeants.

According to Mayor Rose Heck this would be used as a "feeder system" towards granting promotions in the future.

Although the ordinance passed on first reading it was not given the green light by all council members. Councilman Christian Semenecz and Councilwoman Sonya Buckman voted against it citing reasons that it would create too many higher ranking positions in the department.

"This is going to make 14 high ranking officers verses 14 patrolman and you said you didn't want to get into more chiefs than Indians," said Semenecz.

Heck said this was done with the future in mind as more retirements are expected.

In the past year the department lost two captains and two lieutenants due to retirements.

Currently no one in the department holds a captain position. According to Chief Michael Colaneri the department previously had 7 lieutenants and now just 2 hold that ranking. Currently there are 6 sergeants in the department.

Colaneri said what many don't realize is that when four people leave it doesn't automatically mean four promotions it actually means more as ranks leading up to the higher positions have to be filled. The positions have to be created before they can be granted but it does not necessarily mean that the governing body will fill all of them, he said.

Heck stressed that there had been no promotions granted in the department since 2004.

Last month the borough established a set of rules which will determine how promotions are granted within the police department as a way of creating what officials called a fair process. Upon first introduction PBA members challenged the written rules. After a meeting with PBA members and the legal counsel the governing body gave the final okay.

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