Stanhope cops out of line

To the Editor: I would like to reply to the letter from Colleen Popelka that appeared in the March 16 edition of your paper, titled “Where’s our money going?” She questions a report done by Harry Carter, Ph.D., at a cost of $6000, and buying a ladder truck at $600,000. The process to purchase a new ladder fire truck was started by Sgt. Robert Schellhammer of the Stanhope Police Dept. in 2002, when he was the chief of the Stanhope Hose Co. No. 1. The total cost was $570,000 and the council was replacing a 28-year-old, 1977 pumper. Was she at any council meeting when this was discussed? No! She goes on to mention that the police force has been working without a contract since Jan. 1, 2005. She states that the police officers are alerting the public about this by placing signs in their personal vehicles. She does not tell you that some of the signs are placed in the front windshield of their vehicles. If the average person did this, the Stanhope police would issue a summons for obstruction of vision. She does not state that we have a chief, and two sergeants to oversee four patrolmen, one of whom is her husband. We only need one sergeant, which would save roughly $20,000. She does not say that the council purchased a SUV for the Stanhope Police Dept. for $53,000, which is not needed as the Stanhope Road Dept. does an excellent job of maintaining our roads during snow removal. She does not mention that her husband receives free health care at the taxpayers’ expense. She does not mention that the officers refused the town’s offer, forcing the contract to go into arbitration. If the police are so unhappy, maybe they should apply for jobs in another town. Jeffrey Jozowski Stanhope