Where's our money going?

To the Editor: As a Stanhope resident and taxpayer, I feel the need to inform the public of our current police department situation. All of our police officers are working under a contractual “freeze” which began Jan. 1, 2005. A resolution does not seem imminent. Our police department has been providing all its duties every day for over a year without expected contractual pay increases. If available monies are the problem, Stanhope’s citizens should question the town officials’ decision to fund a $6,000 study and then the purchase of a $600,000 ladder truck for our fire department. We would agree on the importance of providing all our service departments with appropriate equipment, but it is also important to realize there are four surrounding towns equipped with ladder trucks that could have responded with aid when needed. Our town does not currently “need” a ladder truck. Authorizing the purchase of this truck while our police officers’ salaries have been frozen for over a year, and our children are forced to walk to school (or be driven by parents), should make us all wonder about the monetary decisions our town council is making. The obvious disrespect and disregard shown by the council to such a vital town service as our police department, made it necessary for the officers to alert the public to their situation by placing signs in their personal vehicles. The hope now is that our community will help to bring the contract dispute to a mutually satisfactory agreement so our police officers can begin to collect the expected salaries they have been earning. Colleen Popelka Stanhope