BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—A state senator and the president of Bergen County’s chapter of the NAACP both called for Englewood residents to be given a preference for employment in city police and firefighter exams at a contentious April 2 City Council workshop meeting.
New Jersey Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood) and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Bergen County Chapter President Junius Carter, both residents, called for the city to hire more residents in public safety positions, and joined a line of more than a dozen residents who called for resident preferences in such hiring decisions.
Over the last month, social media and City Council budget meetings have been abuzz with calls to give city residents a preference in local hiring and the Jabari Society, an international association of black firefighters, has called on the city to throw out previous hiring tests and hire more residents and African-American candidates as firefighters.
The Jabari Society started in Englewood in 1993, said Lt. Joseph Hoyle, corresponding secretary of Jabari Society. He said “Jabari” is a Swahili word for “Brave One.” The local group is part of a larger international Jabari Society organization.
While Johnson and Carter called for increased resident hiring now, a local firefighters union executive secretary, Peter Lee, called for a more transparent hiring process and suggested city officials contact the state Civil Service Commission to administer the next firefighter exam.
Lee said this would allow firefighter candidates to see their test scores and ranking compared to all other test takers, something which is not possible under the current testing system, he said.
But following the meeting, Hoyle said that he did not believe that having tests administered by Civil Service would work best for Englewood because the guidelines are “more tailored to larger municipalities with a bigger work force.”
Hoyle alleged Civil Service is “full of corruption and discrimination” and said “the city has to devise a plan of action on testing,” noting the human resources department must change its testing procedures.
‘A lifetime of hurt’
“Some of these things for us will never go away cause it’s a lifetime of hurt when you’re projected to hire 12 people that are not from here and don’t give back,” said Kevin Wilson, noting out-of-town residents will not contribute to schools, recreational sports and community service roles.
‘Willing to step up’
Assemblyman Johnson, of Murray Avenue, a 60-year resident, former city police officer and councilman, said he supported residential preference for city jobs.
He said he applied for a city police officer job because one person, Jack Drakeford, gave him an opportunity and believed in him.
“I’m not saying drop the standards. I’m not saying that. If a person in this city who resides in this city whose parents live in this city, if they’re willing to step up and work for the city there should be some consideration for that,” he said.
Lourdes McCain, a resident and Dwight Morrow graduate, said her son paid to take the firefighting test and asked if test scores would be provided. Councilman Charles Cobb said the council does not manage the testing process but added, “We’ll get an answer for you.”
NAACP ‘despair’
“I come tonight with a little bit of despair,” said Carter, NAACP Bergen County chapter president. “The reason I moved here was because of diversity,” in the recreation department, city manager and fire and police departments. “It appears we’re going backward.”
He said he had heard about the likely hiring of 12 potential firefighters and five police officers who will be all-white, said Carter, who moved to Englewood in 1993.
“Even to get to the point of all white males is shocking,” said Carter.
He said for 110 years, “the NAACP fought racial discrimination and bias totally.”
He said having no females, Hispanics or African-Americans as prospective hires is bad for Englewood.
“What’s been happening in this town, the hate that’s been spewed on all sides and…it starts up here [council] you all have to get along with each other whether you like each other, you have a job to do…we have and had a beautiful town,” said Carter.
“But I see it disintegrating, the violence that’s happening here and it seems like we’re sweeping it under the rug, the robberies. It seems we’re in the news for all the wrong reasons and we don’t need to be in the news for whitewashing and gentrifying the town,” he said.
Horace Ragbir, a former council candidate, called on the police department to release the results for a recent chiefs’ test administered by the department.
He said applicants for police positions should be told of their scores, and questioned whether the department can hire police candidates who have completed an alternate route program (putting themselves through the academy) without previously advertising that as a condition of employment.
Several residents who had applied or planned to apply for police and fire positions urged council members to provide a preference.
Others stressed the difference between a resident firefighter, who participates in community life and knows the city, versus a firefighter who leaves and doesn’t add to the community.
Peter Lee, an Englewood firefighter and International Association of Firefighters 3260 union representative, said “recently our silence has cost us our voice” and said he felt a need to speak out on behalf of city firefighters. He said the union has “no sway” in who gets hired.
‘Fire does not discriminate’
“Fire does not discriminate and neither do Englewood firefighters. A fire does not care who you are, does not care where you live, it will burn you and kill you just the same. We are your fire department, we belong to the city, we consider it a privilege to be here and have the opportunity to serve you,” said Lee.
He said “Englewood firefighters do not discriminate against anyone and anybody who says we do is a liar.”
He said he only felt discriminated against when someone told him that city firefighters who do not live here do not care about the city.
“For the first time in my entire career I feel out of place, I feel judged,” said Lee.
He said every firefighter cares about the city and its residents when the engine pulls out, and that’s the standard city firefighters live by every day.
Lee said residents “want to be treated fairly and with dignity throughout the entire hiring process and they feel that the city hasn’t given them the confidence to do that.”
Civil Service suggested
He said he heard residents “want a transparent process that is clear and orderly and sets proper expectations for people who take that test to be treated fairly.”
“We support you in that,” he said.
Lee suggested the city request the state Civil Service Commission to administer the next firefighter exams, as is done in nearby Teaneck and Hackensack.
“It’s not a perfect solution and it won’t please everyone, but it’s a standard the majority of fire departments around the state utilize—Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, Elizabeth.”
He said in a Civil Service exam, firefighter candidates can punch in an ID number after the exam and receive test scores and ranking “with no shenanigans, no hanky panky,” he added.
Jerry Chambers, a 21-year resident, said the possible future hiring 12 out-of-town residents for firefighting positions and five for police positions needs to be reconsidered.
“People are very upset in terms of the process…so you really need to look at that. People are not going to sit back and be silent,” he said.
He suggested that police consider establishing a civilian complaint review board to investigate citizen complaints against police officers. He cited one recent example of an incident where an officer did not effectively respond to a call about vandalism he had made.
Chambers said he was required to report his complaint about the officer’s inappropriate response to a police officer, who he said brushed aside his complaint about the officer’s conduct.
Wildes weighs in
Mayor Michael Wildes told Northern Valley Press April 4 that a resident preference ordinance “should have been done years ago. There are certain areas where public service is enhanced by local residents in those jobs,” he said.
Wildes did not attend the April 2 meeting.
Wildes called Lee’s recommendation to have state Civil Service Commission oversee local firefighter exams “a fantastic idea” and suggested that enhanced local recruitment of candidates needs to focus on city schools.
“I’m so proud of the service that firefighters are providing this city…whether they sleep in Englewood or not,” he said.
Draft ordinance ready
The city council briefly mentioned a draft ordinance to provide resident preference—prepared by labor counsel Genova Burns—that may be introduced at its April 16 meeting.
Councilman Michael Cohen, who introduced a resident preference ordinance last year, urged the council to create “a legal infrastructure” to provide resident preferences for city jobs.
“I hope we can get this passed now as fast as possible…we want to make sure we have a longstanding policy to protect Englewood jobs for Englewood residents as best as we possibly can within the confines of the law,” he said.
He said the city needs to look at other legal or administrative aspects to make the law as effective as possible.
Councilman Charles Cobb said all council members “feel the same way, to shepherd this in the right direction” to begin a resident hiring preference.
Several residents requested a copy of the draft ordinance, which was not made public.