If constables appointed in April 2011 followed state law and filed monthly reports through March 2015, the City Clerk's office should have several dozen on file. Results of an OPRA request: None found.
Failure to file a report for two consecutive months, unless physically unable to do so, means the office can be deemed vacant - that is, if anyone is paying attention. An inquiry a few months after the appointments turned up no reports.
At an August 2014 council meeting, former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs defended the constables and did so again in June 2015. She had former Constable Frank Rokins present a report to show the council members and said, "I know there are reports," claiming former Police Director Martin Hellwig had them. Police Director Carl Riley said he was unaware that the city had any constables and he did not recommend them.
Rokins was one of three constables appointed in 2011. The others were Sheldon Green and Tommie Ingram. Green dropped out, but Rokins and Ingram remained.
A call to the Constable Office of New Jersey yielded a callback from Philip Geron, 82, who said he became a constable in 1989. He was a font of information, starting with the distinction that a constable is a peace officer, not a police officer. A constable can be appointed for one to three years (not four) and must be bonded, he said. Activities include serving warrants, recovery and transporting, working with the DEA or serving as game warden, Geron said. A constable may be paid through the court or may become an independent contractor.
Geron said the position can be quite lucrative and added "Anybody can do this."
The municipality gives the constable a badge and collects a $50 fee. The constable must detail all activities and fees on the monthly reports and receives a 1099 tax form at the end of the year from those who use his or her services. But Geron said, "You really have to file a monthly report, even if it says 'no activity.'"
Click to see more about constables.
--Bernice
from your link:
ReplyDelete"Every constable shall on or before the first Wednesday following the first Monday of every month file with the governing body by whom he was elected or appointed, a report of his official activities, ***other than in connection with court or judicial proceedings***"
So I bet that all of the constable activities will be claimed to have been "in connection with court or judicial proceedings" and therefore not required to submit monthly reports?
The law requires that the reports be filed with the city council--meaning, in our case, via the Municipal Clerk's Office. We have an excellent staff there, so if the reports exist, they would have been scanned, sent to the governing body, and properly filed.
ReplyDeleteRebecca
Once again, we see how Sharon's administration wasn't working well. Let's move on and keep moving Plainfield forward. Perhaps we're supposed to listen to those in charge of public safety.
ReplyDeleteDon't be surprised when they claim they gave the reports to Hellwig.
ReplyDelete