Freeholder DeNicola Breaks with Party, Opposes Police Merger

Two years into a divisive discussion over whether to merge the Bergen County Police Department with the Sheriff’s Department, Freeholder Maura DeNicola (R-Franklin Lakes) on Monday reaffirmed her stance against the consolidation, breaking with the board’s other members as well as Republican colleagues.

DeNicola, a former board of education member and mayor of Franklin Lakes, will be the only county-wide Republican campaigning against the proposed merger heading into November.

Talk of merging the two county law enforcement agencies began with a consolidation study completed in 2011 that concluded the county could trim more than $17 million from its annual budget by eliminating the county police department and transferring its duties to the sheriff’s office.

In the two years since, the proposal has generated heated debate within the Republican Party. County Executive Kathleen Donovan has been a staunch supporter of the county police, but appointed a committee to study the consolidation study, on which DeNicola served. The committee opposed the total consolidation, recommending more limited reforms to improve efficiency in county law enforcement.

Sheriff Michael Saudino, a Republican supporter of the consolidation, refused to formally speak with the committee, alleging in a letter sent to committee chair Fletcher Creamer and obtained by The Record that the committee members had “direct political connection” to Donovan’s administration and a “glaring” bias.

The sparring between the Republican officials was renewed Monday when Saudino and two of the three Republican freeholder candidates, John Mitchell and John Felice, said they would campaign on a platform to push for the consolidation over the objections of Donovan, according to a report by Northjersey.com.

DeNicola responded that she would maintain her position against the consolidation, arguing that eliminating the county police would push added responsibilities onto municipalities and “result in increased costs to the taxpayer in order to maintain law enforcement standards,” even if in the short-term the plan eases the county budget.

Echoing Donovan’s position but breaking with other Republican county officials, she said that proponents of the plan have relied on “nebulous” figures to argue for the prospective savings of consolidation.

DeNicola, in a statement, maintained that the possible short term savings of a merger would dry up in the long run, and that the cut costs would not be worth the possible lapse in police service.

“As a former mayor and mother of four children I think I speak for many mothers in the county when I say that I don’t think my children’s safety is worth $1 or $2 a month savings on my county tax bill,” she said.

Her position has been shared by several local police chiefs, who have said they could not, with their budgets, cover specialized services provided by the county police, like bomb squads and SWAT teams, without straining a staff depleted by spending caps.

According to the report by The Record, Democrats on the board of freeholders have criticized the Republicans for an attempt to seize an issue they have worked on continuously—but the positions remain largely unchanged, even if the political divide has reemerged.

Freeholders DeNicola, Mitchell and Felice as well as Sheriff Saudino will be up for reelection in the Nov. 5 general election.