CNBNews

That is a little more than 46 calls per day; a lot of calls for this small town.  Realize that a call requesting a road barricade can be among calls for help with assaults, burglaries, car crashes, harassments, drug activity, vandalism, etc.  So, I am surprised the police took only half an hour to block the intersection.  That is an impressive response time with all things considered!

Also, I read with disbelief that the Gloucester City police are targeted for a raise/merit freeze simultaneously with increased costs for health insurance.  In effect, the police officers will take a pay cut since the net amount of their paychecks will be smaller due to the payroll deduction for the additional health insurance cost. 

Granted, in our current financial situation where many people have lost their jobs, those of us who still work feel grateful. But, certain jobs are more immediately beneficial to society at large than others. The police department is our line of defense from those who choose to commit crimes. The police need to be paid fairly for the difficult work they do. Freezing raises, while increasing their cost of health insurance, is not fair.

It would be fair to enact one or the other cost burden on the police department, not both.

This way, if health insurance costs are increased, police can look towards their next raise to alleviate the strain on their finances. Or, if there's a raise freeze, then their take-home pay will remain the same because the health insurance costs will not be passed on to them.

V. Aiello, Gloucester City

reprinted from the Gloucester City News