ICYMI: Weber Named Acting Police Chief in Middletown

It was announce on Monday that Deputy Police Chief  R.Craig Weber was being named acting police chief, replacing retired Police Chief Robert Oches. I want to wish him well.

The Asbury Park Press had a nice write up on it yesterday:

MIDDLETOWN – Deputy Police Chief R. Craig Weber was named acting Chief of Police, replacing former Police Chief Robert Oches, who retired Aug. 1 after a 40-year career. 

Weber has been with the township police since Dec. 1, 1993, and rose through the ranks until he was named as one of the department’s three deputy chiefs in September 2010. Weber oversees the department’s technical services, which includes the detective, records and service, and community relations bureaus, as well as the communications and computer operations.
Weber holds two master’s degrees and a graduate degree. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. 

A decision about who will be named permanent police chief could come as soon as next month, said Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante. 

“We have a civil service list; it’s a matter of looking at the list of candidates and making a decision,” he said. “I’ll make a recommendation to the township committee, and they’ll vote on whether to promote them.” 

Weber is a lifelong township resident.

July 7, 2014 Middletown Township Committee Meeting: Police Chief Retires with $250K Payout

Last Monday the Middletown Township Committee held its monthly workshop meeting. The meeting lasted about an hour, which was nearly double the time of recent workshop meetings of the past. It was a busy meeting, a lot was discussed. Namely the retirement of Middletown Police Chief Robert Oches. Upon his retirement effective August 1st, Chief Oches will walk away with a  $249, 338 check for unused sick and vacation time that has been accumulated over his 40 years of service.

 Now in general I have no problem with this, Chief Oches served Middletown admirably over his 40 year career and played by the rules. He is entitled to this payout and I wish him well and hope he uses it wisely during his retirement. However, I do  happen to agree with the members of the Township Committee and think these types of payouts are extravagant budget busters that need to end.  But what really annoys me most about this is the self-righteous indignation that was expressed while discussing this issue.

As usual, our very partisan, all Republican Township Committee placed blame for these types of payouts at the feet of the Democrats in Trenton. They implored the Democratically controlled state legislature to do something about this problem and couldn't believe why they would allow this to go on.

The Committee members seem to forget however that the Democrats did do something about. They sent a bill to the desk of  Governor Christie during the early days of his 1st term in office that capped the payouts for unused sick time and vacation days at $15K! Christie however vetoed the bill because it didn't go far enough. He wanted to eliminate (unrealistically in my opinion) these types of payout all together.

You can watch the whole discussion starting at the 19:50 mark of the video.

As it turns out, all the belly-aching that the Township Committee did last week about having to shell out nearly $250K to our retiring police chief, seems to have caught the attention of NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney, who along with Monmouth County State Senator Joe Kyrillos (a Middletown resident)  issued a joint statement - that should make Middletown Township Committee members happy - which said, "We continue to see hundreds of thousands of dollars in payouts to employees simply because they were fortunate enough not to get sick, it's a policy that is grossly unfair to the taxpayers of New Jersey and one the state cannot sustain given our current budgetary issues." according to yesterday's Asbury Park Press.  The article continued to state however that Governor Christie's all or nothing position on the issue hasn't changed.

So maybe it's time for Gerry Scharfenberger, Tony Fiore, Stephanie Murrary, Kevin Settembrino and Steve Massel to put-up or shut-up and issue a resolution calling on their beloved governor to compromise with members of the state legislature on this issue and accept a cap on these type of employee windfalls upon retirement. After all, it would be a whole lot better to pay out just $15K to a retiree than the quarter $Million or more that towns like Middletown are in the process of paying out now or in the future.




As always, you can download a copy of the Meeting Agenda that contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars.

Tour Police HQ during Police Week 5/11/14 - 5/17/14

From Middletown Township:

Robert Oches, Chief of Police, announces that POLICE WEEK will be celebrated this year from Sunday, May 11th through Saturday, May 17th nationally. Chief Oches invites all citizens to acquaint themselves with the Police Department and its operations during this year’s Open House.

Members of our community, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Civic Groups, students and senior citizens are invited to take this opportunity to visit Police Headquarters. Guided tours of our facility will be conducted Tuesday, May 13th, Wednesday, May 14th and Thursday, May 15th from 9:15 am to 5:15 pm. To schedule a secured and convenient time slot, you may call the Chief’s Office Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at 732-615-2039.

In addition, the annual Middletown Police Memorial Service will be held rain or shine at Police Headquarters, 1 Kings Highway, on Friday, May 16 at 11a.m. The public is invited to attend. The service will be held at Middletown Police Memorial, located at the corner of Kings Highway and Route 35.

4th of July Fireworks Message from Middletown Police Chief

From Middletown Alerts:

Chief Robert Oches, Middletown Township Police Department, is issuing a strong warning to all township residents and store owners that the possession, sale and use of fireworks is unlawful.

New Jersey’s Laws on Fireworks, N.J.S.A. 21:2-1 et seq., and N.J.S.A. 21:3-1 et seq., are very restrictive. In some states fireworks are permitted to be sold to, and used by, the public. However, in New Jersey, only paper or plastic caps for use in toy guns are legal.

Sparklers and novelty items, such as cigarette loads, trick matches, trick noise makers, smoke grenades, toy propellants, snaps & pops, poppetts and champagne poppers, as well as firecrackers, roman candles, rockets, etc., are all illegal in the State of New Jersey. Do not be fooled by a salesperson who tries to tell you that they are authorized to be sold by the Consumer Products Safety Commission, mail order houses, sold in other states, or permitted to be shipped by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

I repeat - the only fireworks that can legally be sold and used in New Jersey are paper and plastic caps for toy cap guns. If you have any doubt when approached by a salesperson, call the Office of Safety Compliance directly at (609) 292-2096 for verification.

The Fireworks Laws are jointly enforced by municipalities and The New Jersey Department of Labor. The law states that the sale or possession of fireworks, with intent to sell, is a crime of the fourth degree. Any person found guilty of possessing fireworks, including sparklers, with the intention of selling them, can be fined up to $7,500 and/or imprisoned up to 18 months. Any person found using fireworks illegally can be fined up to $500 and/or imprisoned for up to 30 days.

If you have any questions about the Fireworks Laws, feel free to contact the Office of Safety Compliance at (609) 292-2096.

It is requested that parents instruct their children of the law and the hazards of fireworks. It is also requested that any resident having information concerning violations to report them to the Middletown Township Police Department (615-2100).

Let’s keep this a safe 4th of July this year and every year.