Newly Promoted Police Officers Take Oaths of Office
Monday's mayor and council regular meeting opened with ceremonial oaths of office and a badge ceremony for the newly promoted officers.
It was standing room only at Borough Hall’s council chambers Monday evening, where police officers and their families packed the council chambers at the beginning of the mayor and council’s regular meeting. On the agenda was the ceremonial oaths of office, badge ceremony and police department promotions.
New Milford Police Chief Frank Papapietro recognized Ret. Lieutenant Bruce Raffo for 30 years of service to the town, after which Mayor Ann Subrizi administered the oaths of office to six newly promoted lieutenants.
Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant at Monday's meeting were the following New Milford police officers:
Thomas Johnson: 26 years of service
Robert Jones: 19 years of service
Kevin Kiene: 25 years of service
Stephen Littlefield: 19 years of service
John O'Malley: 30 years of service
Frank Ramaci: 19 years of service, is now Detective Lieutenant
"It's my pleasure to swear these gentlemen in," Subrizi said prior to administering the oath of office, "Be safe and keep New Milford the sleepy little town it is."
Upon taking their oaths, Papapietro congratulated each newly promoted man as he handed them their gold lieutenant's shield.
Papapietro told Patch that these promotions are an "important first step in the rebuilding process."
During January's work session, Papapietro appeared before the mayor and council requesting permission to promote six sergeants to the rank of lieutenant and authorize administering the sergeants exam for patrol officers.
"The current rank structure no longer supports this organization," he told the mayor and council during that meeting. Papapietro explained that low staffing numbers due to attrition— particularly among the higher ranks — have left shifts without the necessary chain of command and proper supervision requiring officers to perform tasks outside of the scope of their rank, a practice, he stressed, that could open the town up to a potential lawsuit.
After the promotions were made, Papapietro said, "I'm grateful to the Mayor and Council for their support of the Department and to the PBA for their continued hard work through the past few lean years."
"They never lost their focus through those times and kept their high work ethic evident."
Subrizi closed the ceremony by saying, "I'm so proud to know [these officers] and so proud to be able to do this."
Jimmy Drake
7:06 am on Tuesday, February 28, 2012
at least now if I get a ticket, it will be from a Superior Officer.
Congratulations all.
procop
3:51 pm on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Hopefully you will, then you can come complain on here . OH JOY !
procop
4:01 pm on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
what an exciting productive life
Jimmy Drake
9:08 am on Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Not to take away from the joy and honor of the promotions and the awards, but I think it was wrong to deny the temp DPW worker a full time position because of supposed "no money".
The man is a volunteer firefighter who risks his life for us, EMS certified, CPR certified, outstanding asset to our town, excellent worker and yet he is kicked aside.
While one of his detractors and family double dip the town payroll.
Denise
4:02 pm on Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The DPW worker is a "temp"!?...not even a part time employee? Now I know why the town looks like garbage.....
Ann Piccirillo
5:22 pm on Tuesday, February 28, 2012
My understanding is that the DPW worker is considered a "seasonal" employee and not a temp in the sense that he came through an agency. Seasonal employees are not full-time employees; they're paid on an hourly basis and are not eligible to receive any health benefits.
Rose Royce
9:58 pm on Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Ann,
Why do you feel that it is your role to be a spokesperson for various departments, committees, etc. in town? If they are not capable of speaking for themselves, they should be replaced. It is also counterproductive regarding dialogue for you to delete offerings with which you probably don't agree. That seems to be seriously overstepping the boundaries of an editor. If you are going to persist, you should change the heading to, "Leave a comment with which I agree."
Jimmy Drake
9:07 am on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Pretty harsh Rose.
I believe town employees are not allowed to defend themselves. and this person not being protected by a Union had few options.
In the past, we have gotten into a few name calling, dirt dragging, family fights and Ann has had to intervene and cool us off. If issues get out of hand, I'd rather see intelligent editing in a worthwhile venue than the fiasco which had become the useless Forum.
Ann Piccirillo
1:10 am on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Rose, I can assure you that I did not delete your comment. I assumed that you did when it was brought to my attention by a reader that it was no longer there. I never delete a comment unless it contains foul language or any racial/religious slurs. Otherwise, if it’s off-topic I interject fair warning.
I am not presuming to be a spokesperson for any "departments, committees, etc. in town." As editor it is within my bounds to protect the integrity of New Milford Patch and I do so by speaking to the appropriate authority and injecting fact where and when I can in order to inform and educate.
As evidenced by the many articles that have generated reader comments, I wholeheartedly encourage dialogue. Also, as much as it is my goal to have all of New Milford reading Patch every day, I'm not there yet. So, your questions may not even be reaching those people you are seeking answers from. I've only been here 4 months--give me a few more to reach that goal.
However, I encourage you to ask your questions directly to the people from whom you are seeking answers by attending the Mayor and Council, Board of Education, Planning Board, Zoning Board and committee meetings.
I'm also always in town, so if you'd like to meet I'll buy you a cup of coffee and we can continue the conversation face to face.
Rose Royce
8:58 am on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Ann,
My apology - I didn't realize that anyone could delete anything at any time for any reason. My experience has been that everyone can make recommendations to the editor but deletion was at the discretion of the editor.
Your replies are certainly factual but it is confusing as to why the replies don't come from the people who are responsible. Many are volunteers or political appointees but others are paid by we the people. It would be nice to hear their logic and reasoning so as to gain some insight as to why they vote the way they do. Thanks for your reply.
Ann Piccirillo
11:28 am on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Rose, no one but the editor or the author of the comment can delete it. Readers can flag comments that they find questionable and then it comes to my attention for review, but it is not deleted. That did not happen in this case. I'm looking into what did happen because I take comments very seriously and encourage all views because that's what promotes discussion.
Editorial insight: I happen to like opinions that differ from my own. They make me consider the other side of an issue and often get me to think in more creative ways. Exchanging opinions and engaging in positive discourse is a bridge to understanding and change. And, I always walk a way knowing a little bit (or, I'm finding as I get older, a lot) more than I originally did.
Irv Conklin
9:12 am on Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Why not promote them all to Chief? I mean having a chief, 6 lieutenants and 6 sergeants on a 32 member department is outrageous. Wait a minute, keep them all and get rid of the four council members who voted for the debacle.