The state budget will providing funding for the hiring of 400 new state troopers thanks to a bill signed into law by Acting Governor Richard Codey.
The bill, which was cosponsored by state Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny (D-33rd Dist.) of Hoboken, Assembly Speaker Albio Sires (D-33 rd Dist.) of West New York, Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-32nd Dist.) of Jersey City and others, would provide an addition $5 million to the New Jersey State Police – including $3 million to hire 100 more officers than previously anticipated and to upgrade the state police emergency communication system.
During the signing ceremony held at the State Police Museum in Trenton, Codey said the new law would help addressed some of the increased demands made on the state police after the attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
“New Jersey is on the front lines of the war on terror,” Codey said, “and our state police have risen to the challenge.”
Despite the new roles and responsibilities the state police have taken on since 9/11, the force has fewer troopers than in 1995. The force currently as 2,609, nearly 90 troopers less than a decade ago.
“For the New Jersey State Police to remain as our preeminent law enforcement agency, it is imperative that it be given the resources it needs to properly and fully meet the security needs of all our state’s residents,” Sires said, during the ceremony. “Failing to provide the funding needed to ensure a full complement of troopers or the modernization of communications equipment is an open invitation to tragedy.”
Sires said the state had taken on the increased burden even as the Bush Administration fails to give New Jersey a fair share of Homeland Security funding.
The communication system the state police use is about 20 years old and its principal transmitter, which had been located in the World Trade Center, was lost in the attack. The system has dead zones in certain areas that force troopers to carry cellular telephones as a back up. The new system will digital and will have multiple transmission sources.
“New Jersey deserves the strongest state police force possible,” Kenny said. As we seek to make New Jersey a safer place to live and work, it is essential that the state police are well staffed and equipped with a state of the art communications system that allows for the best coordination possible.”
Quigley noted that the 9/11 experience showed America that “we can’t ignore shortcomings in manpower or communication when defending the safety of the general public.”
SID gets financial legislation
Codey also signed several other bills into law, including one cosponsored by state Senator Joseph Doria and Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone,(D- 31st Dist) both of Bayonne. This law permits special improvement districts to enter into certain financing arrangements with private lenders.
This bill would allow special improvement districts (SIDs) to borrow money from private lenders, such as banks, under long-term financing contracts. Under current statutes, SIDs may only borrow money from private lenders for 180 days while they are permitted to borrow from governmental entities under long-term agreements. This change will provide SIDs with a further source of funding for downtown improvements, and more latitude to implement programs that revitalize downtown business areas.
Contact Al Sullivan at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com