[Amended 12-3-1979 by Ord. No. 79-17; 2-1-1993 by Ord. No. 93-1]
[Amended 8-19-2002 by Ord. No. 02-9; 11-6-2002 by Ord. No. 02-12; 7-14-2014 by Ord. No. 14-05; 2-13-2023 by Ord. No. 23-01]
A. 
There is hereby created in and for the Borough of Woodcliff Lake a Police Department which shall consist of a maximum of the positions listed below. The Mayor and Council can appoint persons to fill these positions, together with determining their compensation, as deemed necessary for the protection of the public safety and welfare.
(1) 
To provide no more than one Police Chief.
(2) 
No more than one Deputy Police Chief.
(3) 
No more than one Captain.
(4) 
No more than two Lieutenants.
(5) 
No more than six Sergeants.
(6) 
Up to 15 patrol officers.
(7) 
Up to 10% SLEO II Officers.
(8) 
Up to two SLEO III Officers.
B. 
The ranks of Lieutenant, Captain and Deputy Chief are considered command level personnel and no more than three officers will be in such level at any one time.
The Police Department shall:
A. 
Preserve the public peace.
B. 
Protect life and property.
C. 
Detect, arrest and prosecute offenders of the laws of New Jersey and the ordinances of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake.
D. 
Direct and control traffic.
E. 
Provide attendance and protection during emergencies.
F. 
Provide appearances in court.
G. 
Cooperate with all other law enforcement agencies.
H. 
Provide training for the efficiency of its members and officers.
[Amended 5-15-2017 by Ord. No. 17-04; 10-15-2018 by Ord. No. 18-12]
The Mayor and Council of the Borough shall be designated as the appropriate authority as provided in the New Jersey statutes. They shall be responsible for the overall performance of the Police Department, for the hiring of personnel of the Police Department and be responsible for the discipline of Police Department personnel. They shall promulgate rules and regulations for the government of the Police Department and to govern the discipline of its members. Such rules and regulations shall be adopted by resolution of the Mayor and Council and may be amended and supplemented by resolution from time to time by the Mayor and Council as they shall deem necessary and appropriate. The Borough Administrator can address administrative and purchasing issues necessary to assure the efficient and effective daily operations of policing of the Borough.
The Chief of Police shall be the head of the Police Department and shall be directly responsible to the Mayor and Council for its efficiency and day-to-day operations. Pursuant to policies established by the Mayor and Council, the Chief of Police shall:
A. 
Administer and enforce the rules and regulations of the Police Department and any special emergency directive for the disposition and discipline of the Department and its members and officers.
B. 
Have, exercise and discharge the functions, powers and duties of the Police Department.
C. 
Prescribe the duties and assignments of all members and officers.
D. 
Delegate such authority as may be deemed necessary for the efficient operation of the Police Department to be exercised under the Chief's direction and control.
E. 
Report at least monthly to the Mayor and Council in such form as shall be prescribed on the operation of the Police Department during the preceding month and make such other reports as may be requested by the Mayor and Council.
No person shall be appointed to the Police Department who is not qualified as provided in the New Jersey statutes. The Mayor and Council may also require that an applicant for appointment to the Police Department shall successfully complete a physical, mental and psychological examination.
No member or officer of the Police Department shall be suspended, removed, fined or reduced in rank for any cause other than for incapacity, misconduct or disobedience as provided in the New Jersey statutes and the Police Department's rules and regulations.
The Mayor and Council may appoint from time to time special law enforcement officers in accordance with New Jersey statutes for terms not exceeding one year. They shall possess and exercise all the powers and duties provided by said statutes during their term in office, but shall not be continued as regular members of the Police Department and shall not be entitled to tenure. The Chief of Police may authorize special law enforcement officers when on duty to exercise the same powers and authority as regular members of the Police Department, including the carrying of firearms and the power of arrest.
[Added 9-18-2006 by Ord. No. 06-10]
A. 
Purpose. For the convenience of those persons and entities which utilize the services of law enforcement officers of the Woodcliff Lake Police Department and to authorize the assignment of extra duty of Borough police from a pool of off-duty officers, the Borough hereby establishes a policy regarding the use of said officers.
(1) 
Members of the Police Department shall be assigned by the Police Department to police-related functions for private employers or school districts only during off-duty hours and at such times as will not interfere with the efficient performance of regularly scheduled or emergency duty for the Borough.
(2) 
Any person or entity wishing to employ police shall first obtain the approval of the Chief of Police or his designee, which approval shall be granted if, in the opinion of the Chief, such employment would not be inconsistent with the efficient functioning and good reputation of the Police Department, and would not unreasonably endanger or threaten the safety of the officer or officers who are to perform the work. All such employment may only be in accordance with applicable Police Department policies and procedures
(3) 
Off-duty officers selected on a rotating basis for extra-duty details will be considered "on-duty" and will function under the supervision of the Chief of Police. Employees working extra-duty assignments will be held to the normal standard of conduct and are subject to disciplinary action for any violation of the rules and regulations.
B. 
Escrow accounts.
(1) 
Except as provided hereinbelow or required by local finance notices, any person or entity requesting the services of a law enforcement officer in the Woodcliff Lake Police Department shall estimate the number of hours such law enforcement services are required, which estimate shall be approved in writing by the Chief of Police, or his designee, and shall establish an escrow account with the Treasurer of the Borough by depositing an amount sufficient to cover the rates of compensation and administrative fees set forth hereinbelow for the total estimated hours of service.
(2) 
If the amount required to be deposited with the Borough pursuant to Subsection B(1) hereinabove exceeds $20,000, an escrow deposit of $20,000 shall be required. Said twenty-thousand-dollar deposit shall be maintained until such time as the amount required to be deposited for all remaining services on any given project shall be less than $20,000, and then such lesser amount shall be required to be maintained.
(3) 
Prior to posting any request for services of law enforcement officers, the Chief of Police or his designee shall verify that the balance in the escrow account of the person or entity requesting services is sufficient to cover the compensation and fees for the number of hours specified in the request for services from any person or entity unless all fees and compensation required in the manner described above have been deposited with the Borough Treasurer. No officer shall provide any such services for more hours than are specified in the request for services as same may be amended or required by emergency or unforeseen circumstances.
(4) 
In the event the funds in such an escrow account should become depleted, services of off-duty law enforcement officers shall immediately cease, and requests for further or future services shall not be performed or posted until additional funds have been deposited in the escrow account in the manner prescribed above.
(5) 
The person or entity requesting such services shall be responsible for ensuring that sufficient funds remain in the escrow account in order to avoid any interruption of services.
(6) 
The person or entity requesting such services and any municipality requesting that such services be performed by Woodcliff Lake officers outside the municipality of Woodcliff Lake shall execute such indemnification agreements and provide such insurance as required by the Borough or its designees.
(7) 
Houses of worship and local public schools shall be exempt from the requirements for the posting of an escrow deposit.
(8) 
Public utilities shall be exempt from the requirements of posting an escrow account. They shall be required to remit payment for all contracted extra-duty employment within 14 days of the service being provided.
[Added 11-20-2006 by Ord. No. 06-17; amended 10-19-2015 by Ord. No. 15-14]
(9) 
Any person/entity requesting the service may be exempted from the requirements of posting an escrow account at the discretion of the Borough Administrator. In such case, the person/entity shall be required to remit payment for all contracted work within 14 days; failure to do so may result in denial of future requests.
[Added 10-19-2015 by Ord. No. 15-14]
(10) 
The officer accepting the extra-duty employment acknowledges that he/she shall not receive payment for the services from the Borough until such time as the payment has been received by the Borough from the hiring person/entity and that, in the event the hiring person/entity does not make the required payment, the Borough shall not be liable for said payment.
[Added 10-19-2015 by Ord. No. 15-14]
C. 
Requests for services. All requests to the Borough for the services of law enforcement officers in the Woodcliff Lake Police Department shall be forwarded to the Chief of Police, or his designee, for posting as soon as possible before such services are required. Any law enforcement officers, when so employed by the Borough, shall be treated as an employee of the Borough and shall be deemed to be "on-duty" for departmental purposes; provided, however, that wages earned for extra duty shall not be applied toward the pension benefits of law enforcement officers so employed. Nor shall hours worked for extra-duty employment be considered in any way as "departmental overtime."
D. 
Rates of compensation; administration fee; payment for services. Rates of compensation for contracting the services of off-duty law enforcement officers shall be calculated as follows: a) a rate equal to that of a first-class patrolman as per the then-present contractual hourly rate or the employee's applicable overtime rate, whichever is greater; b) all off-duty law enforcement services shall be paid a minimum of four hours and all requesting entities must give a minimum of two hours' prior notice of cancellations of said services or be charged the minimum four hours; c) an additional fee of 15% of the rate as calculated above is hereby established to cover administrative cost, overhead and out-of-pocket expenses of the Borough; d) an additional fee of $20 per hour shall be charged for the use of any vehicle during the extra-duty work; and e) any and all county work mandates the county rate of pay.
[Amended 5-21-2012 by Ord. No. 12-08;8-21-2023 by Ord. No. 23-12 ]
E. 
Borough liability. By accepting extra-duty employment, officers recognize that the Borough can never be responsible for payment to the officers unless compensated by the entity seeking the use of the officer's services.