ARTICLE: Public Safety Should Remain Garwood's Top Priority
By Clarissa Nolde | Published in The Union County Hawk, May 5, 2022
Public safety should be the single greatest priority of the Garwood Council and proper funding of the departments that carry out public safety should be paramount in creating a balanced budget.
I am very happy that Mayor Sara Todisco brought forward a discussion with Police Chief Jim Wright at the last Council meeting on what could be done to solve the problem of high turnover with our Borough’s Emergency Dispatchers, which has seen four resignations in the past year and seven in the past 28 months. Chief Wright said the issue was the low salaries, which made competing with other similar communities paying substantially more very challenging. Mayor Todisco proposed raising the salary for the position by $5,000 and to adjust the budget accordingly. Council President Jen Blumenstock confirmed her support of the measure, citing her desire to retain the dispatch in Garwood. At that point, the rest of the Council voiced their support and the budget was later introduced in a unanimous 6-0 vote.
Our local emergency dispatch is essential to maintaining quick response time to local emergencies. Having lived in Garwood for 22 years, I have both observed and experienced personally the quick response time over the years. The troubling pattern of constant re-hiring and training for this essential position has undoubtedly placed an undue strain on our resources.
I agree with the Council’s decision to fully fund the Emergency Dispatch position. If we are committed to keeping dispatch local, then we must be prepared to budget accordingly. Our local dispatchers are the front lines in the cases of emergencies. They take the calls, dispatch out the police officers, providing guidance to the caller and officer every step of the way. Their knowledge of our local police department and community is essential to both emergency response and the ability to serve the public 24/7 by keeping the police desk manned.
There has been discussion on Council about the possibility of sharing this service with Union County dispatch. While I agree that Councilmembers must always look at all options when making decisions of this magnitude, I also agree with Council President Blumenstock that we must consider not just cost, but also the quality of the service.
The Blumenstock/Lazarow/Nolde ticket will always put the safety of Garwood residents first. Jen and Marc have always done so in their tenure on Council and the proof is in every one of their votes. After all, actions speak louder than words. I look forward to working with them to continue our commitment to fully fund our first responders so they can best protect and serve the community we all love.
Clarisa Nolde
Garwood Council Candidate