By Anthony G. Attrino
nj.com
ALLENDALE, N.J. — Officials in Allendale have responded to a lawsuit filed by three police sergeants and a veteran officer, who sued after they were passed over for the job of police chief in favor of a patrolman.
“The borough wishes to clarify, for the benefit of our residents, (the) recent promotion of Michael Dillon as chief of police,” the borough in Bergen County said in a statement posted to its website on Thursday.
Sergeants Todd Griffith, William Kroepke, John Mattiace and Officer Paul Stettner – all longtime employees of the police department – argued in a lawsuit filed earlier this month they were each viable candidates to replace former Police Chief George Scherb, who retired on Dec. 31.
The top job, however, went to Dillon, who was a patrolman with the Allendale Police Department. The suit claims Dillon got the job because he’s a borough resident and because he’s close friends with Mayor Ali Bernstein and “many borough council members.”
But the borough says allowing Dillon to become eligible for the job had more to do with widening the pool of available candidates within the police department.
An older ordinance required candidates to have 10 or more years on the job, and to have three or more years experience as a sergeant. That meant only four sergeants were eligible for the job, the statement says.
When Scherb announced his plans to retire, the borough council decided a change in the promotional process was needed, the statement says.
The statement also says the four sergeants who were eligible for the job at first refused to participate in the promotional process because they were not happy with the $174,000 salary, which the borough said was “inclusive of longevity.”
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“Faced with the prospect of being unable to promote a new chief of police, the borough (in 2021) amended the ordinance to allow any officer who had 15 or more years of service with the Allendale Police Department to participate in the promotional process,” the statement says.
The amended ordinance allowed Dillon and Stettner to become eligible for the job. After the ordinance was amended, the four sergeants reversed their refusal and six officers ended up vying for the job, the statement says.
Dillon was chosen and sworn in as police chief on Jan. 3. Three of the four sergeants who were eligible for the role of chief under the older ordinance are now suing the department, along with Stettner.
Matthew Toscano, one of the attorneys who filed suit in Superior Court on behalf of the officers, told NJ Advance Media on Friday that the borough’s statement is an attempt to mislead the public.
“Allendale’s response is nothing other than a veiled attempt to support its illegal and politically motivated conduct in distorting horrifically this promotional process,” Toscano said in an email. “And that’s just plain sad.”
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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