[Amended 4-21-1980 by Ord. No. 80-12; 11-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-22; 9-15-1997 by Ord. No. 97-20; 9-13-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-14]
A. 
There is hereby created the rank of Sergeant who shall perform supervisory police work in the field and in police headquarters. Sergeants shall be appointed by the Mayor in consultation with the Appropriate Authority/Borough Administrator and the Police Chief as set forth herein.
B. 
The Sergeant is designated shift commander and is responsible for providing police patrol services during the duty tour and until properly relieved. He or she has direct control and supervisory authority over patrol division personnel operating on a squad basis on his or her shift. This includes both sworn police officers and civilian personnel. Under the general direction of the Lieutenant, the Sergeant is responsible for the effective implementation of programs and activities to meet departmental goals. Through human resource scheduling and assignment task prioritization and the direction and supervision of activities, the Sergeant is responsible for the most effective use of police human resources.
C. 
The following consists of examples of work performed by Sergeants:
(1) 
Supervises and directs the work of patrol squad assigned to him or her.
(2) 
Inspects officers prior to start of tour of duty, assigns duties and provides oral review of status of police operations within the Borough.
(3) 
Within the guidelines of standing orders and priorities, determines appropriate police activities for shift period and assigns personnel accordingly.
(4) 
Provides physical backup and takes operational control of field situations when necessary.
(5) 
Reviews all reports, actions and decisions of squad personnel.
(6) 
Evaluates work of subordinates, provides or arranges for necessary guidance or training and makes recommendations to the Captain of Operations.
(7) 
Prepares end-of-shift report to inform succeeding shift of events within the Borough and the status of police operations.
(8) 
Assists the division commander in reviewing program effectiveness and formulation of divisional budget request.
[Amended 7-7-1986 by Ord. No. 86-16; 11-17-1986 by Ord. No. 86-26; 11-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-22[1]; 11-7-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-14; 6-18-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-5; 9-13-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-14]
A. 
Procedure.
(1) 
The promotional procedure to the position of Sergeant from that of patrol officer within the Department shall be comprised of the following criteria:
(a) 
Seniority and service.
(b) 
Evaluation of the Chief of Police.
(c) 
Evaluation of the Captain of Operations.
(d) 
Evaluation of the Lieutenant(s).
(e) 
Evaluation of the Borough Administrator.
(f) 
A score of at least 65 must be obtained on a written examination approved by the Chief of Police. Any candidates scoring less than a 65 will be eliminated from the remainder of the process.
[Amended 1-30-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01]
(2) 
The weight assigned to each of the aforestated criteria for the purposes of ranking the candidate shall be as follows:
Promotional Criteria
Maximum Points Per Category
Seniority and service
20
Chief of Police evaluation
65
Captain of Operations evaluation
30
Lieutenants' evaluation
20 each evaluation
Appropriate authority/Borough Administrator evaluation
65
(3) 
Seniority. In accordance with the chart set forth above, the maximum 20 points for seniority and service shall be determined for each candidate by allotting one point per year for each of the first 15 years in service and 1/2 point for each year of service between a candidate's 16th through 25th year of service. Additionally, no patrol officer shall be eligible for a promotion to the position of Sergeant until he/she has served with the Borough of Metuchen Police Department as a sworn law enforcement officer for at least five complete years. Fractional years of service shall not be calculated in the numbers of whole years for purposes of the calculation of points and shall be determined as of the date when the position is to be made available.
B. 
Police Chief evaluation. The Chief of Police shall allot to each individual candidate a mathematical score, up to a maximum of 65 points, based upon an evaluation which shall consider past performance, leadership skills, management skills, personal strengths and weaknesses and other factors reasonably considered by the Chief to be related to the responsibilities of the position of Sergeant.
C. 
Captain of operations evaluation. The Captain of Operations shall make a similar, but independent, appraisal of the individual candidates based upon the same factors as the Chief of Police, with a maximum point total of 30 points.
D. 
Lieutenants' evaluation. The Lieutenant(s) shall make a similar, but independent, appraisal of the individual candidates based upon the same factors as the Chief of Police and Captain of Operations, with a maximum point total of 20 points for each Lieutenant's evaluation.
E. 
Appropriate authority/Borough Administrator evaluation. The Borough Administrator shall assign a point total, up to 65 points, based upon the Administrator's estimate of the personality strengths and weaknesses, leadership and supervisory qualities, ease and skill in interacting with the public, management skills and other qualities reasonably considered as relevant to the responsibilities of the position of Sergeant.
F. 
Selection process. The individuals' names with the top three scores will be submitted to the Mayor for his/her consideration. If a promotion is made, the Mayor shall promote any one of the top three candidates, regardless of ranking. If there are two Sergeant positions available, the top four candidates' names will be submitted to the Mayor. For each additional position available, one candidate's name will be added to the list submitted to the Mayor for consideration.
G. 
Maintenance of ranking list. Once posted, the ranking list shall remain in effect for up to two years, unless the Mayor exercises its discretion to call for a new test because additional candidates would be eligible for consideration to the position of Sergeant or the Mayor exercises its discretion to extend the list beyond two years for a period of time determined by the Mayor.
H. 
Removal from list. The name of any candidate may be removed from the list based on disciplinary action taken by the Department against the candidate after the list has been established.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection a of this ordinance provided as follows: "As of the date of this ordinance, the title of staff sergeant will be phased out through attrition. However, those individuals currently serving as staff sergeant shall continue to perform the duties and responsibilities of staff sergeant as stipulated in the ordinance. All individuals promoted pursuant to this ordinance shall perform all duties as stipulated under Sec. 19-41."
[Amended 11-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-22]
The Sergeants assigned to detective duties shall perform under the supervision of the Captain of Operations and Chief of Police in accordance with all special and general orders, rules and regulations of the Department. All Sergeants shall conform to all the rules and regulations of the Police Department insofar as they do not conflict with other instructions of superior officers.
Sergeants of police shall carefully note every case of neglect, misconduct or other violation of the rules and regulations of the Police Department on the part of any member and shall promptly report the same to the Chief of Police.