Police Merger Should be Explored, Kinnelon Councilman Says

A Kinnelon councilman is making the case for the Butler and Kinnelon police departments to merge.

Daniel O’Dougherty spoke about looking into the possibility of merging the departments at a council work session last Thursday.

“For me, it’s a no-brainer,” said Daniel O’Dougherty. “It seems like the opportune time. After all, the officers from Kinnelon and Butler are always backing each other up.”

O’Doughtery said another factor that could work in favor of the merger is a change of leadership. Kinnelon’s John Schwartz took over as chief earlier this month. Butler Chief Edward Card will retire at the end of the year.

O'Doughtery said he would want Schwartz to run the new department should the two merge. 

Kinnelon and Butler each have 16 active officers but Kinnelon’s department covers a much greater area, about 20 square miles, verses what Butler’s does, about two square miles.

The merger could not take place immediately however due to state restrictions. The Butler Police Department is run under Civil Service regulations. The Kinnelon department isn’t.

State lawmakers have discussed allowing mergers between different departments to occur.

O’Doughtery said Kinnelon officials could also consider merging the department with Boonton’s.

Butler examined merging its department with Riverdale’s in the past but the idea never got off the ground because residents spoke out publicly against it. That move would have saved the municipalities $1.2 million.