Why don't you all post your salaries? I don't think the Borough Admin should make that kind of money, but as far as our Police Dept., the Officers who place their lives on the lines every day? What is the point of your article anyway?

Agreed Leave the Police Alone!

Gerard - thank you for the article. I think it is important for tax payers to be aware of their local payroll. I am sure this information (since it is public information) is available on some website somewhere, but it's helpful to have it outlined here.

Personally, I am not interested in debating whether or not the salaries are appropriate or not simply because I don't have enough information about how these salaries compare to other towns that are of similar demographic nature. And until one can compare apples to apples, it's not really a relevant discussion.

I believe that being informed is always a good thing. That said, I am sure I am not alone when I say how much I appreciate our local municipal employees and the jobs they do! :)

Perhaps part of the point is that the taxpayers are the ones who have to fund these salaries. If the salaries of public employees are way out of line with the salaries in comparable positions in the private sector, then there is a real problem because it becomes unsustainable. We've gotten into the habit of paying people based on what surrounding towns pay. That’s important because they are the competitors for the talent pool, but I’m not sure how much we have taken into account what the taxpayers (the funding source) are earning. While the private sector has been laying people off, giving pay cuts or pay freezes, many public sector employees have continued to see pay raises.

It’s a delicate balance and it doesn’t hurt to put the information out there for us to be aware of. As citizens we have a responsibility to pay attention to what is going on in our government. It’s much easier to change course if we keep on top of changes as they happen rather than when we suddenly realize they are completely out of whack.

I am guessing the point of the article is that people paying the taxes for these salaries are making nowhere near these amount, and the only employees it seems that people complain about are teachers' salaries; which by the way, are NOT in this tier after10-15 yrs of work. Also, this article should perhaps show what the police that retired recently are getting; also way up there! We can not afford this in our town and we are not Newark! Our housing market prices are among the losest in the area and our taxes among the highest. While I have a great deal of respect for our police and the job they do; I don't believe we need these salaries in order to keep our town safe. Christie mandated changes for teachers coming into the work force, why not for police? Why haven't they been cut down the same way? BTW; I am NOT a teacher, I have family that consist of both police, state and town and teachers as well. The bottom line is that we have taxed our town out of being desirable to home buyers, recently the Record newspaper had it quarterly list of house sales and prices, and Bloomngdale's home prices dropped another 22%, below the $200K mark for most of them. While Wanaque, Butler and Kinnelon has started going back up in value; we cant afford to stay here and cant afford to sell our homes and move!

@ hopenchange?
This is exactly why my grandmother had to sell the house she lived in for 60 years....could not afford to pay the property taxes because we have to pay teachers and police office sick money. I am not saying they should not be paid well, but it should be relative. If the Chief of police makes $124k, nice of his officers shouldn't be making over $100k. You said it best....this is not Newark we are talking about. As far as teachers, the Butler HS gym teacher makes $94k or so per year, and that only requires 10 months of work.....and there probably aren't too many lesson plans being created over the breaks. In the corporate world, companies have laid people off and had to reduce the pay of their employees to meet analyst expectations. Why should local government be exempt. If they are under pressure to meet the budget numbers, the answer can't always be to raise property taxes....they must face the music and make those hard internal decisions as well. Bloomingdale is not alone, all of these towns have similar. Most have police forces the size of small cities too.

I find it interesting when I read one of these articles how they are skewed to turn public sentiment against the local police just by the title of the article. In any town the Police are also the highest paid on the town's payroll and an easy target. But the Police department budget is only about $350 of your entire tax bill. Now ask yourself how much you would think is too much to have to roll around with an AIDS infected heroin addict with a needle in his hand, run into a burning house or get shot at. If you look at only salaries of these fine officers that represent our town and that's all you see, I'm sorry to say you aren't even getting half of the truth. Bloomingdale's officers are paid on average or slightly below average for Passaic County and no differently from our surrounding towns. The Chief hasn't had a raise in 3 years and the PBA contract that was awarded by arbitration along with the Governor's own rules gave them a 2% raise. When you add in the new required payments into their pension and health benefits, their take home when down by 3% from 2010 and the town now gets an additional 1.5 of the Police officer's salary back to use as it pleases even though it is meant to offset health care costs. The PD also is the only revenue generating department in town regularly bringing in a half million in fines to help off set taxes yet you bash them. Times are bad, but if you think its the Police Dept's fault your way off base. Your Police Department deserves better.

If you want public employee salary information go to: www.NewJerseybythenumbers-NJ.com. The Police Dept. in our community does the best job and people sit here and complain. These men are here every day to protect us and our property. Thank God for them.

The site mentioned above will also give you the teachers salaries that are paid via our taxes!

ok as usual is the "teachers only work 10 months a year" statement. They are pd for only what they work in the class; they aren't pd any vac time at all. If you take police time; add up the sick, pers, vac days etc they have a year - subtract that from the normal 35-40 hrs a wk, over a yr, you get pretty close to the same 10 mnths. OK, now, just because I disagree with the pays of many police, it is the same thing anymore as saying anything negative about Obama's job as president, right away, you are labeled a "racist." if you don't agee that police in a sm town like ours, Butler, Pompton Lks, etc should just about ALL be making over $100k - then you dislike cops & you disprespect their job. BS! It is simply out of control. Also re: the Butler HS gym teacher making $94K, how many yrs has that person been there? I know police that make that after less then 4-5 yrs! And despite what you may think; the teachers that I know , DONT get much of a break during the day at all. They grade papers and do lesson plans at home, at nights & weekends. When a cop walks off his/her shift, he is done for the day. So get off the teacher bashing wagon, please! This town is in debt over its collective head - WE CAN'T afford this anymore; and havent been able to for yrs already. We, as taxpayers certainly don't get the huge payouts officers rec on retirement; unused sick, vac, pers time; Yes they have to pay something for it now, all Gov workers do; of course except the Senate, Congress, Governor.

Compare the Police budget to the school budget! 60% of the towns taxes go to the school budget so your comparisons are not even apples and oranges, their more like apples and office furniture. Teachers do get a break during the day and run out the door as soon as the bell rings, so give that a rest. Whats that a 61/2 hour day? No disrespect to the teachers good for them. But save it please! as for the police they top out after 10 years, not 4 or 5. Also, why didn't the teachers give back their raises like the other town employees did 2 years ago? In fact they are getting a 4-3/4% raise this year, not 2% like the cops are. One more thing, when a cop takes a bullet or gets busted up doing their job, they can leave that at the door when the bell rings.

Lets see, there were a total of two major crimes in Bloomingdale within the past few years. The bank on the corner of Main Street and Union Ave. was robbed in broad day light by two gun weilding thugs and the barber was shot dead in a robbery gone bad. With all the police officers on the payroll and all the taxes paid out ,how many of these crimes were solved? NONE! 0 for two. Zilch, Nadda. For what ever reason I can't understand, our fine police department chose to NOT go out to the public and ask for help, they chose to handle the complete investigation within and neither crime was solved... Maybe they should take away some of the money from the salaries and put it into better training... atleast this way we might see some results for the huge amount of taxes we pay to run this police force in such a small, quiet boro...

First of all you are completely uninformed and a complete moron. The barber was not shot and the police were heavily involved with the public in both instances, handing out flyers and utilizing the media. There are 15 police officers in Bloomingdale and no more than 3 at a time covering 8 square miles. Hardly overstaffed. Its quite obvious that you are on here just to get a rise out of people, but I'd hate for your horrendous misinformation to actually be taken seriously by someone as dimwitted as yourself.

Notice how in a town that people actually want to live in (unlike Bloomingdale), the salaries are not so out of whack: http://triboro.patch.com/articles/kinnelon-pay-freeze-prevents-salary-increases

Notice also that nobody starts screeching and whining (while accusing others of whining) the second they feel that their men-in-uniform fetish has been threatened.

The reaction seen here is indicative of a sorry town with messed up priorities that has a closet-sized library in a basement and exorbitant taxes paying for an underachieving school system.

Keep defending your boys in blue who are glorified six-figure traffic cops as this town continues its downward spiral while never hitting rock-bottom.

The salaries noted seem to be inline or almost transparent of those in Kinnelon. Some a little less some a little more. It only seems our list is not complete for borough employees in this article.

LOL! And Patch has removed the Kinnelon salaries article! So much for journalistic integrity!

I love the righteous indignation when government workers get caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Hand in the cookie jar? So you think the Kinnelon Police are steeling from their residents? It's public knowledge! Maybe because the editor lives in Kinnelon she got tired of people calling her who knows! But to imply that the Police are doing something illegal is pretty out of line. Remember those salaries are negotiated by the officials that the public elects. I guess you think that the police hold them at gun point and demand their pay! get off the crack pipe Mary!

Mary, the Kinnelon article was briefly removed because an error was brought to our attention. It is now back up. TruthBeTold, I do not live in Kinnelon, although I did grow up there. But to your point, I welcome any and all feedback on any of our articles, whether it be positive or negative. Anyone can email me any time at ariana.cohn-Sheehan@patch.com

Perhaps you should try revising Bloomingdale's also since you apparently left several out! You may want to also include how much more the employees are paying toward their health benefits and pensions while your at it. Journalism that is incomplete and only tells half of the story is misleading and irresponsible. We're talking about public records so this stuff shouldn't be hard to find.

TruthBeTold, you name is almost as funny as your spelling and wild claims. I never accused the police of "steeling." They got a nice racket going that's perfectly legal. They get so pissy and send out the hounds when anyone dares question their inflated salaries in Mayberry.

If you think it's so easy to get public records from Bloomingdale I suggest you go down to Town Hall and try it yourself. They're so stuck with 1970s technology there that most of the time they don't even know where to begin to look for what you request. We're talking about a council that still records its meetings on cassette tape. Yet we can afford to pay all these cops six-figure salaries because people like you with your soldier-sniffing and "Won't somebody think of the CHILDREN?!" ways keep this town in its downright embarrassing state with your warped priorities.

I think the term "caught with your hand in the cookie jar" implies taking something you shouldn't so stop back peddling, it's embarrassing. The figures are available online so scroll up and you can click the link. Anyway it's too bad you've had such bad experiences with the police but perhaps that explains a lot. You may also want to proof read yourself before posting. I think you mean "your name" but a hypocrite like yourself can only see things from their own sad perspective.

I don't really care what you infer from standard English phrases since your command of written English is demonstrably lacking to anyone with an IQ above 90.

I bet you voted for George W. Bush twice. How's that search for the WMDs working out for you?

You are an idiot that is easily duped by scare tactics and men in uniform.

It's true what they say... never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience! You WIN! BPD We support you and all the great things you do for our town! Keep up the good work!

Please explain to the class what great things the BPD does for Bloomingdale.

First, TBT - the 60% of taxes that goes to the school budget pays for bldgs, grounds, maintenance; salaries, benefits, supplies, books, busing, Butler HS, etc. So lets talk apples to apples?? Also, I guess you believe our country is heading in the right direction now? No WMD found? OK did you see what was done the Iraq's own people with WMD? And this isn't about the Presidents is it? It is about out of control pays in the public sector while taxpayers are losing homes & jobs. I don't know where you are from, but just like I dislike people mocking NJ, (what exit; the swamps etc), as a resident of NJ - its ok for us to joke abt it but not people who do not live in NJ! I live here and don't appreciate the tone you used re Bloomingdale as a whole. Most are hardworking people & lived here for generations; and I did vote for Bush and would NEVER vote the current president back in & I am not an idiot! He blocks our energy projects; wants a "make believe tax cut" the only thing his p/r cuts are doing is again underfunding SS & u/e funds. And it goes on. But the articles are about the amounts on taxpayers backs for the police, borough employees (some of them) and yes, some school personnel as well. I didn't get why the council didn't cut the school budget at all despite it's defeat, but I DO KNOW that many other school districts have frozen teachers, secretaries and maintenance salaries for the past few yrs. And they too have to pay into their benefits, so do the rest of us. Be Civil.

No clue what you're talking about, but If Bush looked in your mouth he'd find those WMD's he was looking for!
Looks like the psyc ward just had a jail break folks! Lock your doors!

Wow this place is confusing! I think that Mary and Hope need to be locked in the same room together! How did George Bush get into this conversation? I also like how racist Mary is, that just adds to her hypocracy when talking about hope! This place is zany!

And so you see, Bloomingdale is a perfect microcosm example of what happens when you put all your money into defense while neglecting education.

I would just like to set the record straight: the Borough of Bloomingdale did not withhold any information. An error on my part prevented both tables from being posted with the original article. A change has been made, and I take full responsibility for the error.

Its just not fair to bash the cops when you wont do the same to the other groups in the town that are worse in terms of bigger numbers making 6-digits. If you are not going to go after them too, then you lack credibility and fairness. Just saying. You all have short memories. The police forewent raises, gave back to the community and when other groups were asked to make the same sacrifice they acted like someone passed the jelly, they wouldn't even hear of it. Their faces looked like they smelled something funny. They scowled at even the notion that they would take less than the status quo for their raises.

If I were them, the next time it came time to get raises I would remember the flack and the dissing they took here on this forum during the last 3 days, theyre only human. MH and hoopen, Why attack them publicly? If you are unhappy, calling out the police officers on the public forum is no way to make them feel wanted and happy to do their job, I would think that since we cannot affect change on the Patch forum why try by calling out the segment that is in charge of our security??? I would prefer that they are confident that the public is behind them and they keep writing those tickets and doing their jobs the best they can. Challenging their salaries to the point of your nastiness is really a little much.

Mary, where were you when the fat cat Lawyer was making all that money? I dont recall you spitting the same fire over that.

thank you Mr. Longo for the clarification which will clear up a lot of the comments I have had to address.

Jane McCarthy
Municipal Clerk

I cannot comprehend the point of this article. Was it just to bash the Police Officers in our town? All of this information is available on the web-site I mentioned above. The Police Officers in our town have been on the job for a long time and the best job anyone could ask for. I would not want to lose our Police to the county or state for all the tea in China. I am thankful to our Police. Where are the articles about Wayne, Pompton Lakes, Wanaque, Butler, Riverdale and Pequannock. Lets compare apples to apples. No one should throw rocks if you don't have all the facts and present all the facts. Our Police Dept. is one of the finest Departments in the state and they earn their money!

Well this sure has gotten out of control. I am sorry Ms. Hollister that you are such a bitter angry liberal. If there is anyone here that is a total IDIOT, it is you! I am sure everyone is all the more enlightened by your opinion of Bloomingdale's citizens. Grow UP! and btw; no I didn't attend Bloomingdale's schools. And TBT, I have nothing in common with Mary - and my response re: WMD was from hers to another blogger, calling him/her an idiot that "probably voted for George Bush." That started there. The bottom line is we can't afford the public employees salaries and benefits at the levels they are - period! Jersey Girl; no one said our police dept isn't full of wonderful people, and I have nothing against any of them.

Jersey Girl, the point was simply to present the information. Patch has no bad feelings toward the police or any other employees. Salaries of Butler and Kinnelon employees are also posted in separate stories that also ran this week.

Mr. Bastante, Unfortunately some people don't remember what the employees did FOR all of us taxpayers in giving back. That gesture came from the hearts of these employees because they care for the people of our community. These employees will never know how much that gesture is appreciated by some of the residents here. I again thank all of the emloyees for your graciousness.

You people are unreal. You're being bent over and reamed while shouting, "THANK YOU SIR MAY I PLEASE HAVE ANOTHER?!"

Mary, you really are a POS. Where did I ever say I am happy with the salaries? You can be against their salaries while being respectful. MY point is that this forum is wrong for this conversation. Thats because nothing that is said or written here can affect change, IMO. Additionally, there is another group in the town that is WAY more over paid as a group and they arent even listed here. So, really, is it fair to blast off on the police in this venue? This is where I disagree with you. Now, I'll sit back and endure another round of insults from you as Mrs. Shortman, God bless her heart, Runs through gum drop fields and swims thru lollipop lakes!

I think you misspelled the Yazdi family name!

Lets see.... a Police officer in the big dangerous city of New York has a starting pay of $28,370. If he is good enough and puts the required time in and tests well, he might get his gold shiled and become a detective, salary... $45,422. If he really puts a LOT of time in and he tests again and again and scores well, then he just might make the rank of Liutenant...salary of $57,890.
Now, tell me WHY in the world are we paying police officers in the tiny Boro of Bloomingdale N.J. a whopping salary of $97,000 and Sargents make over $102,000.! Whats wrong with this picture???

I ask that same question? about the Butler police officers how is that even acceptable?our officers make more then the Bloomingdale officers and we live in a two and a half square miles, and have 17 officers ????

We have 18 and they are telling us that number is not enough! The chief went to the council recently and pleaded his case for even more officers; to "fill the many jobs that a police dept. needs to do." Says who? Some Retired police officers that make up the reasons why we need more police officers! I think its time they learn how to multi task and the officers can do like the ones who's shoes they filled not so long ago, more than just one part of the job at a time...

Tom you are a liar and once again trying to spew BS on here to upset the residents of this town. First of all NYPD has 37,000 officers and here is the patrolmen's salary structure: http://www.police-officer-pages.com/nypdsalary.html#axzz1nJKKAxHw

As for Lieutenants: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/capt_badge_losing_its_lu_ter_for_Zr2PxjBVieL8RAqphD9y2I

In the future try researching your claims before you post your drivel and show everyone how incredibly foolish you are.

there is a lil difference NY has 37,000 officers and 3 million people with a much higher rate of crime

Tom Fox made the caparison to NYPD. Im just giving the facts that conveniently eluded him. Whats your point sherry?

that when you get all the information on how much the police officers and public employees in the tri boro area receive that is with their salaries and there stipends there pensions packages it is a very big difference then NY officers and public employee salaries and remember that our towns are not near as big as NY and are crime rate is not near what officers in NY deal with . that is all iam trying to say TruthTold

Look at the numbers.... not much a of a difference.

?

The only people saying leave the police alone are either related or police themselves!! This is ridiculous, if you work in the public sector, your salary should be voted on by the taxpayer!! Lives on the line??!! This is Bloomingdale, not Newark!! Did they catch who murdered Frank yet? Or the people who robbed bank of America? Of course not, they are too busy checking the inspection stickers on taxpayers cars!! What a joke!

TruthBeTold,Mr.Tom Fox,Mary Hollister,Tea Party Conservative, No I am not a Police Officer. Let me ask you are you willing to give up your holidays, family time, personnal time, vacation, salary give back, see horrors that none of us should see, working different shifts,being outside in stormy weather? That is only some of what these men and women do for all of us. Thank God I don't have to call on any of you should I ever need help.

hey Jersey girl, please don't lump me in with those knuckleheads, im on your side!

Try working a job where you have to climb up the ladder... Not a salary that keeps growing even ass your waste line does.... Like I said, the only ones defending are related, dating, or a public employee... Holidays, double shifts, they should have to clean gum off the damn sidewalk on top of all that for that amount of money!! I guaruntee you their is not a company in Bloomingdale where 10 employees make over a $100,000 a year...

Actually there is. McFarlane Toys! Thy're an international company and the owner spent 3 million on a baseball (Mark McGuires #70 Ball) Also, I believe the DPW is responsible for the gum on the sidewalk that low lifes like you spit there. I'm sure youre the person I just read about in the blotter last week. Its sad that you lost your license, but it's safer that you are off the road. Good day! :-)

@TruthbeTold I will bet you your public salary or pension, (not sure if you are retired yet) that they don't have 10 people making more than $100,00 a year working there. I drive just fine, and but have many blind spots on my vehicle, so please cross at pedestiran crossings!! Please my jurisprudence would force them not only to not write me a ticket, should I get pulled over, but give me a police escort!! LOL! Now I am done wasting my time arguing with you officer, so of course you can have the last word and call me names... LOL!!

Truth Be Told, Thank you, and I appoligize.

Tea Party Conservative, Not a public employee, dating, related to the Police. Like I said before, Thank God I don't have to call you in case of emergency! Who are you going to call in an emergency--Ghost Busters?

I actually make a bit more than our local police and contribute to my own pension fund that I have as a business owner. Much like the cops do by contributing to theirs, the differnece is mine is a SEP IRA. It's sad that you are so bitter towrards the Police, but if you are a Tea Party person I suppose that explains alot. No wonder that they have the reputation of having a 12 year old's intellect, it fine people like you. Maybe you can even see russia from your back yard!

While TruthbeTold is an obvious plant, the fact that he/she has decent spelling makes it evident that he/she is not a police officer.

And hey Karen, yes, bank robberies do fall under FBI jurisdiction. And murders fall under the jurisdiction of the county prosecutor's office. So exactly what purpose do the Bloomingdale police serve if they do not even handle major crimes? The Bloomingdale PD only handles relatively minor crimes while commanding CEO salaries. This is obvious insanity to anyone whose lips aren't firmly attached to the taxpayers' teat.

And yes, I would do all those horrible things police do instead of having a 9-5 job if I could retire at age 50 and then receive a monthly pension until the day I die like police do. This practice is unheard of in the private sector because the private sector actually has to turn a profit eventually, and can't just keep dipping into the public till every time more money is needed. It is not a sustainable system. You cannot just keep raising taxes year after year after year after year after year after year after year to pay for your union thugs' demands. There is a breaking point, and it has arrived.

It is not acceptable for Bloomingdale to be paying more than $1 million a year for what basically amounts to traffic enforcement.

@ Jersey Girl, I call Mr Smith and Mr Wesson!

Hopefully you are licensed thru the Police Dept.

@Mary. What CEO in this country do you know that ONLY makes $100K per year or less? The CEO of my company gets a base salary of over $2 million but with stocks will probably clear over $25 million per year. But the discussion is around salaries, not pensions. Pensions are a whole different can of worms, and I do agree with you regarding the pensions being a big problem. But regarding salary, I see nothing wrong with what they're paid.

I would like to add a few last points to this topic. Mary, I completely agree with your comments dated Feb. 28th. I too believe that it is not acceptable for Bloomingdale to be paying more than $1 million a year for what basically amounts to traffic enforcement. That said, I know a number of our officers and will quickly say that each and every one of them is indeed a good, hard working person and I want it to be known that it is not "them" that I protest; it is what I feel is their out of reality salaries. That said; I must comment on T.B. Tolds nasty, vulgar comments. It seems that with researching the salaries of the N.Y.P.D. , I came across not one but 5 sights with totally different information on each site pertaining to such salaries. I quoted directly from one site, you from another. Truth Be Told, who knows what the right answer is. I did see however that ALL of them listed Patrolmen, Sargents and Captains (even your quoted site) as LOWER salaries than our fine men in blue in Bloomingdale make. In conclusion, I did note that the BPD Sargents went up over 6% from Dec. 31, 2010 to Jan. 1, 2012. A period of only 1 year and two days, this while the rest of use got 0% raises or a max. of 3% if we were really lucky! Explain that to the tax payers of Bloomingdale >>>

And Jersey Girl, just for your information, I have been a fireman for over 30 years, have seen things that most people will Never see, worked both the second AND third shifts as well as 12 and 16 hour days and yet make FAR less than any police officer in the Boro of Bloomingdale. Take your head out of the blue clouds and look at reality for once in your life; you may be suprised by whats really out here.

Mr. Fox, I have never disrespected or sold short the job any fire department does. They are both essential components, along with emergency services, that make up our community. I thank you for being a firefighter and am sorry for the sights you and other firefighters have seen.

Just read the trends article on Bloomingdales budget deficits.... What should we do raise taxes, or get out the ax???

very late to this but, are any of you actual Bdale taxpayers? I am - paying almost $11k for a Cape on a 50 x 100 lot!! They have risen over $5,000 in the last 9 years we have lived here..that's over a $550 increase every year and doesn't even include the add'l $1100/yr being paid for water/sewer! what is the surprise by the police off. salaries? that has been the course for years! What I find to be most upsetting are the DPW salaries! & the gentleman down at water & sewer! There is obviously a problem in our Small town and arguing about it on here is not helping the matter any. It's a shame that in order to discuss these issues there must be such name calling on both sides...this is why we will never acheive any resolve, every side thinks they are right, I don't care who's right or who's wrong, all I care about is Fair and it is Not Fair for the working class to be paying such outrageous taxes in such a small town...who can even afford to live here anymore? I surely worry what the new tax bill will bring after the new assessments were done, considering they still don't even know the tax rate! Facts are facts -when a town is struggling, costs need to be cut somewhere! I haven't had a raise in over 5 years, FIVE, cost of living still goes up, healthcare goes UP UP UP and I'm still just happy/lucky to have a job through this econ mess. The real question is where will the change come from & who is willing to bend to it? in the mean time, still searching for my money tree....