Fantastic news!

We pay a lot in property tax in this town and I for one want the best police department. I want to know the truth and to find out if Gordon is causing problems. We have to hold our elected officals accountable and need an investigation. If this is true, maybe it is time for a new business administrator

Ditto that. Laura can you make some calls and find out the truth? I think we should pack the next Township Committee Meeting and demand answers. I am supporting the cops also.

I see how hard the cops worked during the storm, and everyday during the school day. They do so much with so little support. Support the police and demand answers from the Mayor before it is too late and we become and bad town like some of our neighbors.

I want to know also what is going on with the police department. I have lived here for almost 50-years and know a lot of the cops. They all seem hardworking and if they are not getting what they need, we had better get them the support they need. If this guy Gordon is putting our cops in danger, he should be held accountable. The police protect us all the time, not the people in town hall.

and why would they fire the police dispatchers and move that operation out of town? This sounds like a real bad idea. We can't let this happen without the Mayor explaining why. She said in her state of the town address she is serious about public safety.

Why is the fire chief involved in the police dispatch? Something seems real wrong here. When my family calls 911 I want Millburn Police to answer and not someone who says my name is Peggy and doesn't know what to do.

I took a tour of the police dept. with my son's Tiger Cubs and saw how the dispatch works. It is really important and our elected officals have these people working in an area that needs to be updated. When I asked the police officer giving the tour, he was professional and said we use what they give us and always do the best. This is not an area to try and save money.

I also hope to read a news report with factual information -- is it public information how many officers/staff PD has? Is it public information what type technology is at PD's disposal? Or are there safety reasons for not making that public? No one wants to put police in an unsafe position but would like to be informed. Most importantly, are the Police short 3 officers as claimed in past comments? It has been reported Township has huge surplus, why would they be skimping on public safety? My family also supports strong Police Dept. for all residents - not just the Mall -- especially with current crime wave! When is next Township Comm meeting? Would like this handled better than hurricaine and Oct snowstorm.

Does anyone know if there's a problem going on affecting public safety, does this fall under some State official who can be called in to investigate?

Who cares if the dispatchers move out of town or state? A dispatcher is just a telephone operator who transfers the calls to the local department.

Consolidation of municipal services is an important and common sense way to save money.

I am a retired police officer, with over 40 years’ experience, and you don’t know what you are talking about. Dispatching personnel monitor radio traffic, answer 911 and emergency calls, watch video monitoring, staff the police station front desk, monitor electronic alarms and equipment throughout the entire jurisdiction.
They are the first part and an integral part of the criminal justice system.

Central dispatches, that are not covered by the same agency, are bound to fail, place the resident’s life in jeopardy, and become chaotic during times of crisis. Wherever that dispatching is located will get priority. So Millburn will be 2nd class.

Please unless, you know what you are talking about, don’t trivialize someone job. Your life could depend on these people.

If the allegations against Tim Gordon are true, then something MUST be done to put a stop to his actions. Enough of the nonsense already! As someone else pointed out, Millburn doesn't seem to have a shortage of money since they were able to buy the Rimback Building. In addition, the town is building a bird sanctuary in the South Mountain area. With all that is happening in town (flood, storm, break-ins and thefts) do they really need to focus on additional parking and a bird sanctuary?? I would rather my tax dollars go toward the police force. And, that includes police dispatch!!!

Millburn Twnship is building a bird sanctuary in South Mountain arena? What? How much is that costing and are you implying this is in lieu of hiring police staff? Personally I would prioritize spending tax dollars on Police & Fire Dept rather than Papermill or Rimback. If Town is worried about money, sell off the Papermill.

I find all these anonymous allegations against Mr. Gordon to be suspicious and inappropriate in a public forum. There is nothing in the article to substantiate the claim that Mr. Gordon broke a confidence in speaking about the task force, especially since it appears that the Mayor and other committee members commented as well. Consolidating services has been talked about for a long time, including police dispatch.

It's just seems like someone has an axe to grind here and I would be careful about blindly following along without facts to back up his or her allegations.

The bird sanctuary is at the end of Gilbert Place behind Haran Circle. I'm not implying money for the sancturary is in lieu of hiring police staff. I am raising the question: if there is a shortage of money shouldn't projects like this sanctuary and additional parking be put on the backburner and the safety of township residents become the priority? I would rather my tax dollars go toward the police dept/dispatch instead of a bird sanctuary and additional parking.

M Moore maybe you are right, but there is a simple way to find out. The Patch should investigate and ask the police department and town hall for a comment. By reading their comments, we will be able to see if there is a problem

something is wrong here??

Agreed. I find Town Hall's allegations to be unseemly.

There is always a place for "whistleblowers" but anonymous postings without context is plain old wrong. This is but one side of the story and the allegations border on libel, quite frankly, because the intent is to beseech someone's reputation and assign malicious/irresponsible intent on Mr. Gordon's part. Perhaps this is nothing more than a serious difference of opinion between the Police and Mr. Gordon. If so, there are rules of engagement for resolving and this is not the right way to go about it. It's unfair, unbalanced, one sided, and childish.

We don't know what happened, because we were not there.

As to the serious issues raised, well, I am glad they are being raised to the degree that it doesn't become a witch hunt against Mr. Gordon.

There appears to be something wrong, I think as taxpayers we have the right to find out what is the truth.. Laura are you looking into this??

Agreed regarding Town Hall. We don't even know for sure that this person is an employee there. If they are authentic and their allegations are accurate, then it would have been more appropriate for him/her to write to The Item or The Patch and allow them to investigate independently instead of just posting a huge rant.

As it stands now, I or anyone here could be Town Hall. I do admit to being there yesterday to get the renewal on my dog's license, but it seemed pretty peaceful.

Well, Town Hall (employee or not) went on quite a rant. Don't agree with airing it here but nonetheless someone on the TC will no doubt be looking into it. My real concern is making sure our PD has what it needs to be effective. The Ret. Police post pretty much sums it up. Someone's life could depend on it.

I don't care who said what and why. What I want to know is it all true. Patch can you help us here?

Laura, it's pretty obvious that one person submitted a number of these posts with different names. I see that you've removed the original attacking posts, but, there are a bunch of other identities here that, given the same poor use of English grammar, are 'probably' the same person (Deerfield Old Short Hills Road, Temple B'nai Jeshurun, LoveNyYankees, Wallstreet, Ret. Police, Concerned Millburn Homeowner, Glenwood Mother, etc...). Anyone care to wager?

Please note: Story is updated with police comment and no comment.

Sandy,
You're missing my point. Sure Town Hall would be disciplined (up to and including termination) if they made those comments under their real name. I'd be fired if I did the same thing to my company, because there's a specific policy against it.

My point is that there is no PROOF that Town Hall works there or if the statements he or she made are true in whole or in part. For all anyone know, this could have been the work of the insidious organized gangs mentioned by Mr. Gordon to divide the community.

Who knows, and you know what? Who cares. I don't pay to live in this town to watch them play games with pitting civilian management and the police force against each other or armchair quarterback police policy. I don't care what they do to stop this crime, so long as it doesn't violate anyone's constitutional or civil rights. My job is to pay what they ask. Their job is to run this town and protect it. I lock our cars and put them in the garage. I installed and maintain our motion detector flood lights and front timed lights. I'm doing my part.

So Millburn, figure it out and get it done. There are no participation trophies. There are only arrests and convictions. Anything else is hot air and wasted time and money.
How many of us in the corporate sector would still be employed if an equivalent problem under our responsibility went so long unremedied? I know I'd be over on the 99 week plan, myself.

Laura I don't think commenters here are looking for confirmation police are on this particular task force. I think we are asking for confirmation as to whether Police Dept is fully staffed, or is Township refusing to hire 3 budgeted positions and if so why? Are they moving Central Dispatch and if so, facts behind that issue, etc. A comment ealier said a woman with many children at her home called Police in middle of night because her home alarm indicated a break in was in progress. She had to wait along time for a response. What would the response have been had dispatch been in another town, even slower? The kind of indepth reporting we get on school issues.

The Millburn Item and Millburn Independent are reporting that the Short Hills Association is sponsoring a meeting with Police Chief Gregory Weber on Thursday, Feb. 9th at 7:00 p.m. at the Millburn Free Library. Maybe some of the frequently asked questions about recent crime sprees might be answered here!