WEST WILDWOOD – Residents are taking their case to save the borough’s Police Department to the next level, asking state officials to intervene in what they believe to be the borough’s plan to disband the department.
A letter from a group identified as the Committee to Save the West Wildwood Police Department, addressed to the superintendent of the State Police, the state attorney general, the State Commission of Investigation and the Department of Community Affairs, asks them to intervene in four ways:
- To assess the borough’s current law enforcement staffing levels and readiness to respond to foreseeable public safety events;
- To evaluate whether the borough commissioners’ failure to hire constitutes gross negligence, misconduct, or breach of fiduciary duty;
- To deploy state-level assistance or intervention if local public safety cannot be ensured; and
- To advise the borough on any corrective mandates necessary to fulfill its obligations under state law and protect the public.
The letter, titled “Formal Notice of Grave Concern Regarding Public Safety, Police Staffing Crisis and Request for State Intervention,” expressed “grave concern” for the community in light of recent events on the national front and signs of “a potential protest event in South Jersey scheduled for June 14.”
“The borough has refused to authorize or implement necessary police hiring. This inaction places residents and guests in direct jeopardy, especially as local law enforcement remains understaffed and unable to fulfill core public safety responsibilities,” the letter reads.
It goes on to say that the borough has mutual aid agreements with neighboring towns, but suggests mutual aid could be denied if circumstances in the town supplying the services present a more urgent need.
“The people of this community do not feel safe, and they do not believe their elected officials are taking necessary steps to protect them,” the letter says.
Borough officials are currently speaking with neighboring municipalities to try to work out a shared services agreement, which they apparently determined was the most logical option out of four given by a recent borough-commissioned report by the Chiefs of Police Association of New Jersey.
In that option the report recommended disbanding the Police Department. Shared services refers to an ongoing agreement for services, such as the one West Cape May and Cape May Point have with the City of Cape May for police coverage.
The report, which cost $15,000, has been criticized by residents and, along with the borough’s ongoing consideration of disbanding the department, prompted a large turnout at the June 6 commissioners meeting. So many people filled Borough Hall that the meeting was moved outdoors to Neptune Avenue Park.
Residents’ sentiment, as expressed at that meeting through T-shirts reading “Back the Back Bay Blue” and through Facebook pages such as “Save the West Wildwood Police Department,” suggest many are in favor of the borough’s maintaining its own force. The community has a population of about 550.
Debbie Fox, a resident who organized a Facebook page supporting the department, said the group that composed the letter currently has six members, but she added that many more residents are involved, and the number is growing.
Borough officials have said the borough has hired but then lost about two dozen officers over the past several years, saying that in many cases those officers found better opportunities. The department currently has fewer than a half-dozen officers.
Mayor Matt Ksiazek said the borough administration has worked hard to resurrect the borough financially and in terms of credibility after a previous administration ended up putting the borough on the hook as the result of lawsuits.
A lawsuit brought by a former Class II officer against the borough, then-Mayor Christopher Fox and Police Chief Jackie Ferentz resulted in a $215,000 payment in 2020 to the officer, who sued after claiming he was fired for not issuing tickets to Fox’s political opponents.
In 2017, the borough was ordered to pay Ferentz $1.7 million in a whistleblower case. She had been fired by former mayor Herbert “Chuck” and subsequently filed two lawsuits. Ferentz was reinstated when Fox was elected in 2012; she is currently on leave pending her retirement.
Neither settlement was covered by the Joint Insurance Fund.
On Wednesday, June 11, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland issued a statement saying he was asking neighboring police departments – Wildwood, North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest – to help provide police services for West Wildwood.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the leadership and officers of Wildwood, North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest for answering the call to assist during this time of need,” Sutherland said. “Their commitment to public service and regional cooperation is a reflection of the strong law enforcement community we have in Cape May County.”
The prosecutor said the other municipalities agreed to provide necessary manpower and resources to ensure that police services in West Wildwood continue without interruption.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128..
