227 Church Street
Newfield, NJ 08344
September 5, 2013
Borough of Newfield Council & Mayor
18 Catawba Avenue
P.O. Box 856
Newfield, NJ 08344
Dear Sirs & Madam:
At the last regularly scheduled Council Meeting
held August 8, 2013, a new ordinance was introduced. Since the text of the ordinance was not
available, a member of the audience asked what was the subject and content of
the new ordinance. We were told to the
best of my recollection that it was mostly cosmetic changes and that election
of officers was to revert to the volunteer fire company rather than be selected
by Borough Council. Subsequently, I have
found that the cosmetic changes are more than that by reading the public notice
printed in the South Jersey Times on August 14, 2013.
At the next Council Meeting on September 12,
2013 I expect you will vote to enact this ordinance, as that is the customary
procedure. Since I object to some of its
wording, I feel I have a duty and responsibility as a voter and a taxpayer to
make clear my objections prior to its enactment, while you still have time to
re-write it or withdraw it.
For clarity reasons, I will quote each section
and then provide my comments.
PUBLIC NOTICE BOROUGH OF
NEWFIELD ORDINANCE 2013-8 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NUMBER 2013-7,
CHAPTER 25, 25.2 AND 25.5, FIRE DEPARTMENT OF THE CODE OF THE BOROUGH OF NEWFIELD,
COUNTY OF GLOUCESTER AND STATE OF NEW JERSEY, ENTITLED "FIRE COMPANY"
WHEREAS, THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF NEWFIELD, COUNTY OF
GLOUCESTER, AND STATE OF NEW JERSEY, DESIRE TO AMEND ORDINANCE 2011-15
REGARDING CHAPTER 25 OF THE CODE OF THE BOROUGH OF NEWFIELD ENTITLED "FIRE
DEPARTMENT"
Just to be certain I understand, 2013-8 amends 2013-7 which was
its self an amendment of ordinance 2011-15.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF NEWFIELD, COUNTY OF GLOUCESTER,
AND STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AS FOLLOWS:
This establishes what authority you are exercising in making
this ordinance.
Chapter 25. Fire Company
25 .1. Establishment. There is, and has been established, within the Borough of
Newfield a fire company, known as the Newfield Fire Company No. 1 (hereinafter
"NFC") was which was created and established is hereby continued to
be recognized by the Borough of Newfield. No other fire-fighting organization
is to be formed within the Borough without consent of the Borough Council. NFC
must comply with all the requirements of this Chapter and any rules or
regulations promulgated hereunder.
As this starts, it contains what I
expect and hoped for: recognition of the volunteer Newfield Fire Company No. 1 (NFC)
as the fire-fighting organization for the Borough of Newfield. This provides the necessary legal
authorizations for them for liability and insurance purposes. It also provides a fire-fighting capability
that as a taxpayer and voter I need at lowest cost – through a volunteer/unpaid
organization.
I believe the next sentence about
forming other fire-fighting organizations is both unnecessary and unwise. It is unnecessary because even if a group
designated itself a fire-fighting organization, it would not have authority to
fight fires in the Borough. It is unwise
because it restricts future actions that technological innovation or other state
or national events may make obsolete.
The last sentence about NFC
adhering to requirements and rules is also unnecessary. NFC must obey NJ and national regulations and
is subject to the authority of the Gloucester County Fire Marshal. The members’ conduct is also subject to
their own by-laws. Those regulations are
more than sufficient to ensure that the volunteer fire fighters are qualified
and able to perform their duties.
Furthermore, the authority of the Gloucester County Fire Marshal applies
expertise in fire and other hazard response that current or future Council
members do not and probably will not have unless a Newfield resident becomes
the Fire Marshal.
25.2. Line Officers. The
line officers of the NFC shall consist of a Chief, Deputy Chief, Assistant
Chief, Captain, Lieutenants, and Fire Police Captain as shall be elected by the
NFC and submitted to the Borough Governing Body to ensure that they are
properly credentialed and qualified to serve as firefighters as provided by law
and regulation.
I assume you lifted the names of the line
officers from the current by-laws.
Enacting into law is unnecessary as these names may change as state and
federal guidelines and regulations change. If the by-laws are changed and the
fire chief becomes the Grand Poobah, why should any one care? What I as a citizen and you as the Governing
Board should care about is that it is at all times clear in the bylaws who is
in charge and the chain of command at the scene of a fire (or other hazardous
event). This is needed because of NJ statue
40A:14-54.1. Authority at scene of fire of fire
official in charge of supervision or direction of operations
The chief or other superior officer of any
municipal paid or part-paid fire department or volunteer fire company, or a
State fire warden, who is charged with the duty of supervising or directing
operations at the scene of any fire shall be the sole authority within fire
lines established by said fire chief or other superior fire officer, or State
fire warden, at the scene of such fire with respect to all firefighting
operations relating to the protection of lives and property endangered by such fire,
and within said fire lines such authority shall supersede that of any municipal
police authority. The authority hereby invested in the chief or other superior
officer, or State fire warden, shall terminate at such time as he shall declare
the fire out. Nothing in this act shall affect the powers possessed by the
Governor under the various emergency acts nor the powers possessed by any State
agency to protect the public health, welfare and safety.
L.1981,
c. 435, s. 1, eff. Jan. 9, 1982.
I also think Borough Council has
neither the skills to judge the qualifications or credentials of an individual
fire fighter nor the authority to approve the officers of any volunteer
organization. I know the Superior Court
ruling granted you the power to rule on a fireman’s credentials but why you
would want that responsibility is what I don’t understand unless it is a
personal one. It is my opinion that reflecting personal issues into a law makes
a law not good, not fair, but poor. Basically
the Superior Court Judge said it was not in Council’s purview to appoint a fire
chief, to run the fire company or determine firefighting protocol. I would replace this section with paragraph
endorsing NJ 40A:14-54.1
25.3. Approval of
Department bylaws. The bylaws of the NFC shall be submitted for the approval of
Borough Council. Any amendments thereto will not become effective unless and
until formally approved by Council. Approval of the bylaws and such amendments
shall not be unreasonably withheld.
I believe the judge already ruled
that you could not approve the by-laws.
Asking that a copy be provided and kept up-to-date is reasonable. So, please re-title and re-write this section
to ask for a copy to be given to the Town Clerk for guardianship purposes.
25.4 Reports to Council.
It shall be the responsibility of the Chief of the NFC to make all reports to
Borough Council as hereafter required by this Chapter.
I believe the NFC by-laws, NJ
State, and Federal regulations and guidelines spell out the duties and
responsibilities of a fire chief. Since
the Gloucester County Fire Marshal has responsibility to make reports on a
state level and because the NFC falls under the authority of Gloucester County
Fire Marshal, any data needed would be requested by that office. Whether the Fire Chief or some other officer
of the NFC provides that data or some other entity (911 organization perhaps?),
those are the proper channels.
I recommend you remove this section
as unnecessary and redundant to state regulations.
25.5 Ownership of
quarters. The Borough of Newfield shall retain ownership and control over
quarters entrusted to the NFC.
At one time, the land where the current
Borough Hall/Fire Station/Senior Center is now situated was under the control
of the Newfield Board of Education and belonged to the Borough. When Edgarton Memorial School was opened, use
of the building that had housed the school was given to the NFC and they were
permitted to build an attached garage for housing fire equipment. Council meetings were held there and public
and private functions such as Kiwanis and wedding receptions used the old
school building.
Eventually, that building was
replaced and updated to the current configuration. I am sure that the land belongs to the Borough. Whether the land and/or buildings are under
the authority and control of the Borough Council or the Newfield School Board
is an open question.
I think it would be wise to remove
the clause about control. Ownership
should be all that is necessary to ensure that the building and its contents
are covered by the Borough’s insurance.
25.6 Expenses. Borough
Council shall supply to the NFC funding at its discretion, based upon the needs
of NFC, and taking into account funds raised by this volunteer organization.
This paragraph is unnecessary
unless you are counting under the needs of the NFC the funds for maintaining
equipment owned by the Borough. In which
case, the proceeds raised by the NFC nor donations given to the NFC should not
be used for maintaining Borough owned equipment. That is a responsibility properly provided
through tax monies. You have the
authority to give the NFC money to defray expenses such as training courses,
training materials, damage to clothing, etc as a budget item as you, Borough
Council, so chose. It’s a requirement
for the Police Department since that is a Borough paid organization, not
voluntary, as is the NFC. This is
already under your discretion and does not need to be spelled out.
25.7 Purchasing and title
of equipment. The Borough of Newfield shall retain title to all equipment
purchased with funds supplied by Borough Council for the purpose of purchasing
such equipment. However, nothing shall preclude the NFC from purchasing its own
fire equipment or other personal property and retaining title thereof;
provided, however, that if the Borough shall have a financial responsibility
toward the purchase, operation or maintenance of such items, prior formal
approval of Borough Council for such purchase shall be required.
So as it has been in the past, so
it will be going forward. I might add
just after the last Borough Council the phrase “in its role as budget
authority” to make it clear that you are only approving the total expenditure
as within budget constraints, not vetting each bell and whistle. When you order a new piece of equipment for
the Police Department, you rely and trust that they will make the best choice
within budget constraints or, if there is a feature they feel is necessary but
exceeds the budget, they will make a case for that feature.
25.8 Duties of Fire
Chief. A. The Chief shall be in full command and complete control at all fires
and during the period of all alarms and shall be held accountable for his/her
actions to the Council and shall make written and verbal reports as the Council
may require. All other line officers shall be accountable to the Chief except
when any officers are acting as Chief in his absence. B. The Chief shall
formulate rules and regulations to govern the operation of the NFC, such rules
and regulations being subject to review and approval by the Borough Council,
and shall be responsible to the Borough Council for the morale and general
efficiency of the NFC. C. The Chief or line officer designated by him/her
shall, at least once a month, conduct suitable drills or instructions in the
operation of fire-fighting apparatus and equipment, first aid and rescue work,
salvage, a study of buildings presenting unusual fire problems, water supply
and other matters generally considered essential to good firemanship and safety
of life and property from fire. D. The Chief or any line officer designated by
him/her is hereby required to report to the Borough Council any suspected crime
of arson and shall render all possible assistance to the Borough Council and
the Chief of Police/Officer in Charge in investigating the cause, origin, and
circumstances of all fires of questionable origin. E. The Chief shall cause to
be kept complete records of all fires, apparatus and minor equipment, personnel
and other information about the work of the Fire Company. F. The Chief shall
report monthly to the Borough Public Safety Chair the number and types of fires
during the month, the number
and purpose of all other runs made, the number of members and man hours involved
in responding to each fire or other run, and the estimated los involved in all
building fires. G. The Chief shall make a complete annual report to the Borough
Council, such report to include information as specified in Subsection F of
this Section, together with comparative date for previous years and
recommendations for improving the effectiveness of th
As I stated before, NFC by-laws, NJ
State, and Federal regulations and guidelines spell out the duties and
responsibilities of a fire chief. Furthermore, some of the duties you are
assigning the fire chief already belong to the Gloucester County Fire Marshal
(arson determination and investigation, reports). If Newfield were a fire district and NFC was
its volunteer fire company, NJ would require certain data including that of a
financial nature to be published on a website as part of the NJ State effort on
transparency of government. The
guidelines for that data follow federal and state regulations with respect to
privacy and security.
I recommend you remove this section
as unnecessary to, redundant to, and possibly in conflict with federal and
state regulations.
Respectfully,
Margaret J Davis
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