Camden police officers opted to put off a vote on terms offered for jobs on a new Camden County-run force, according to two officers who attended a closed-door union meeting Thursday evening.
The county has characterized the terms as its "final offer" to the Fraternal Order of Police, the rank-and-file union, as officials move toward eliminating the city department and replacing it with a larger county force.
One officer said that the members wanted more clarity on the county's terms and that a secret ballot might now be held Monday or Tuesday.
Officers have been generally dismayed that the county has not made an ironclad offer to hire all of them onto the new force.
FOP lodge president John Williamson could not be reached.
The county has said that if the police union agrees to the terms and if the officers apply to the new force by Thursday, it will "consider for hiring" all of them -- rather than only up to 49 percent, which officials otherwise plan to do to avoid having to maintain the terms of current police contracts.
"We made a final and fair offer," Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. "They need to act prior to the deadline," he added, saying it was extended once but will not be extended again.
While county and city officials have said they want current Camden officers to make up the nucleus of the force, officials have not said how many of the officers are likely to hired.
Copyright 2013 - The Philadelphia Inquirer
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
