May 24--ATLANTIC CITY -- The $3.35 million grant meant to improve police technology will go first toward hiring a consultant to figure out the best equipment and training procedures -- and estimate costs -- necessary to get the department up to date, according to an agreement approved Wednesday night.
Atlantic City Council unanimously approved the agreement Wednesday, more than eight months after the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority approved the grant.
The next step is coming up with qualifications for a consultant. Atlantic City police Chief Ernest Jubilee said Wednesday he is not sure how long that will take, nor how much the consultant will be paid.
The agreement also sets out basic guidelines for the CRDA to provide the city with the grant through a reimbursement process. It also lists the technology upgrades that are likely to be implemented under the program.
Those include the computer-aided dispatch and records-management systems, as well as using GPS to map squad car positions. That will facilitate monitoring by supervisors and dispatchers, allowing them to see immediately which units are available and closest for calls, saving time by cutting down on the back and forth that goes on now as communications workers blindly correspond via radio with patrol officers until they determine who is in the best position to respond, Jubilee said.
The CRDA approved the grant six months ago. The money comes from interest paid on mortgages through the CRDA's Neighborhood Stabilization 3-2-1 Police Loan program designed to encourage local first responders to buy houses in the resort.
The municipality's finances have been under state Department of Community Affairs oversight for the past 18 months. That means the DCA must approve the agreement, said Irving Jacoby, deputy city solicitor.
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Copyright 2012 - The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J.
