Politics & Government
Colonial Alliance to Name Winning Bidder for Police Consolidation RFP
The Center for Government Research beat out two other firms, including one based in Haddonfield. A vote on awarding the study is expected this month.
Representatives of the Colonial Alliance, a group of Camden County towns seeking to save money on police administrative services, have chosen a contractor to complete a study on how to do just that.
With a bid of $98,000, The Center for Governmental Research of Rochester, NY, beat out two other firms, including one based in Haddonfield, according to Haddonfield borough administrator Sharon McCullough.
McCullough was part of a group of representatives that reportedly conferred at a closed-door meeting in December about the bidders, which submitted their proposals in August 2013.
They were:
- Matrix Consulting Group of Mountainview, CA ($45,000)
- Center for Governmental Research of Rochester, NY ($98,000)
- Ronin Security Solutions of Haddonfield, NJ ($191,245)
Haddon Heights has decided to not participate in the study, even though it was one of the original seven towns in the alliance. The potential impact of the study drew criticism from one police chief and a Haddon Heights councilman.
The RFP calls for a four-month timeline for the completion of the study from the date any contract is awarded.
The stated goal of the study is “increasing law enforcement administrative efficiency without interfering with overriding public safety concerns, while reducing redundancy of services amongst agencies.”
It is not meant "to combine police departments,” Collingswood Mayor James Maley said at the July 2013 meeting of the Collingswood borough commissioners during which the study was announced.
Part of the challenge the RFP will handle involves the replacement of several municipal police chiefs, whose higher-salaried leadership positions have long been a focus of cost-cutting initiatives in Colonial Alliance communities.
Collingswood has already signed agreements to share code enforcement officials and other labor as part of the Colonial Alliance.
Editor Matt Skoufalos contributed to this report.
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