Dear SaveMAPD supporter:

We appreciate the overwhelming show of support at the Aug. 13 town council meeting.  There were approx. 80-90 SaveMAPD supporters in attendance and many had to stand due to the limited space! Without a doubt this was the most well attended council meeting in the last several years!  We hope the next council meeting might have better accommodations for SaveMAPD supporters and residents of Mt. Arlington J

We were glad that the council decided to entertain and answer some questions during the meeting. SaveMAPD supporters asked questions and made statements for approximately 2 hours and the show of support was overwhelming!  However, the council did defer many questions on the basis that the “study” was not complete and therefore did not have adequate information to answer.

It appeared the most difficult questions for the council to address were related to the specific issues below.  If you have the opportunity to speak or write to the mayor and council, these types of questions should be answerable regardless of whether the “study” is complete or not.

· **** It appears there is and was some type of internal conflict between the council and the FOP with regard to a "safety issue".  Regardless of any past or present differences of opinion between the council and FOP, is the council willing to meet privately with the FOP in an attempt to reconcile any differences that may still exist? ****

· The Mt. Arlington officers have a special relationship with its residents. The officers “know us” and we “know” them. They are a part of our community family.   So, how can you guarantee us (the residents) that we will have the same level of “personal” service?

· The Mayor made reference to the idea that response times would not diminish.  Many supporters question that point and asked questions like- How can you guarantee us that response times will not diminish?

· How can we expect another contracted town to have the same vested interest in the town as our current officers? 

· Clearly there is a very strong show of support to save the department.  What does the council have to say about that and what conclusions can be drawn from that?  Doesn’t this strong opposition clearly indicate to the council that the overwhelming majority of residents are against even the idea disbanding the department?

· Will a shared services contract allow for all the community efforts (school programs, etc) that our officers now perform?

· These officers have worked hard to protect us and now they will be bumped back down to the lowest rank if/when they are hired by another department.  These officers will in some cases lose their jobs and all of them will forfeit their seniority if they move to another town.  Is that fair?

· Since this is one of the most important issues in the town’s history, why shouldn’t the council help residents find a way to get this on a ballot so that the residents can vote on this issue?

When asked the question by a supporter, the Mayor did promise to get back with answer about whether this issue could in fact go to a referendum to be voted on by residents.  This is a very important point because if the Mayor and council inform us that we can bring this to a vote, through a referendum, it will certainly help our cause!