Riley Now Holds Two Public Safety Titles

Carl Riley, the city's acting police director since Jan. 1, was confirmed for a four-year term in the role Monday and will additionally serve as acting director of the Department of Public Affairs & Safety.

The City Council first voted 5-2 Monday to amend the resolution giving advice and consent to the appointment, with Tracey Brown, Vera Greaves, Cory Storch, Rebecca Williams and Council President Bridget Rivers voting "yes" and Gloria Taylor and William Reid voting "no." Once the additional title was added, the resolution passed 5-2, with Taylor and Reid again dissenting.

The department is one of three required by the city's special charter and includes the Police and Fire divisions. Each division had a chief until the council abolished the title of police chief in March 2008 in favor of a civilian police director. Department head Martin R. Hellwig then took on the additional title of police director, in effect reporting to himself. No salary band for police director was established until January 2010..

Riley will draw only one salary for doing both jobs, as did Hellwig. As described Monday, the director of Public Affairs & Safety sets policy for the department, while the police director is in charge of day-to-day operations for the Police Division.

The question of Public Safety leadership became thorny earlier this month when numerous people urged the council to make Police Captain Michael Gilliam a director. Siddeeq El-Amin, a retired captain, also sought to be the department head and read a statement at the Jan. 13 meeting asking council members to make public any objections they had to giving him the title.

Two related ordinances were adopted on first reading Monday, one to establish the title of deputy police director and one to set a salary for the title. The first ordinance cites a need for two deputies to assist the police director, while the second gives a salary range of $80,000 to $140,000.

Reid objected to creation of two new positions and said the title was not "on the civil service charts."

Corporation Counsel David Minchello said the state allows the title only for municipalities of 150,000 or more, but said city officials will be holding a conference call with state representatives to see whether it could be permitted for Plainfield. (The city's population is only a third of that allowed for the title.) Minchello suggested the ordinances could be passed on first reading and dropped before second reading and final passage if not permitted by the state.

Reid wanted to table the ordinance, but the move to table failed 4-3, with only Taylor and Williams agreeing with him. The ordinance to establish the title for two deputies passed on first reading 4-3, with Brown, Storch, Taylor and Rivers voting "yes" and Greaves, Reid and Williams voting "no."

The salary ordinance passed on first reading with the same voting pattern.

If the state allows, the two ordinances could be up for final passage at the Feb. 10 regular meeting.

Next City Council meeting: Agenda-fixing session, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3 in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave.

--Bernice