Audit Suggests an End to the Position of "Director of Public Safety"

Hoboken, New Jersey, with its close proximity to N.Y.C, its charming century old dwellings and affluence on the waterfront, is a great place to live. Unfortunately for the taxpayers, over the past couple of years property taxes have spiraled out of control and increased to an overall total average of around 20%. Although it is a daunting task, the new administration led by mayor Dawn Zimmer, are trying to clean up the budget mess and get the property taxes back under control. It has come to light that careless spending could be part of the budget problems and they are trying to curtail this practice. An audit was performed by the Division of Local Government Services (DLGS) on the Hoboken Police Department to make sure the money for the department coming from the taxpayers is justified and being spent properly.

One of the positions within the department under review was the Director of Public Safety. After reviewing the position the DLGS feels that is is not essential for proper management of the police department. In their studies they could find no apparent advantage to having or keeping this position. If there was a little more transparency in city government we might have stumbled on this sooner.

It was suggested in the audit that the chiefs of both the police department and fire department where more than capable of handling the duties performed by the Director of Public Safety under guidance from the mayor of Hoboken. The chiefs of these agencies might have more of an insight into suggestions and solutions when they are dealing with things such as making policy and coming up with financial guidelines for their respective budgets.

It has been encouraged by the DLGS that mayor Zimmer and her administration look into the current and future needs of these agencies and the city at large to see if the benefits that this position provides outweigh the cost to the city and its taxpayers. Of course we all want a safe city to reside in and that is accomplished by having a well manned and effective police force. But, if there is waste in that department that can be stopped and lift some of the burden off of the taxpayers, the removal of this position just might have to happen.