Bergen County freeholders override Donovan veto of police merger
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday October 30, 2013, 10:25 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Here’s how frosty the relationship between the Bergen County freeholders and County Executive Kathleen Donovan has grown.
At the start of Wednesday’s work session, each of the two branches of county government had their own stenographers record the meeting.
Both started to transcribe as the freeholders prepared to override Donovan’s veto of a measure to merge the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office.
After 30 minutes of discussion, the dispute was ironed out and one stenographer was sent home. The board, as expected, voted 6-1 to override the veto.
But the spectacle of dueling stenographers was the latest symptom of the large, ongoing dispute over where the power of one branch ends and the other begins.
And as with three earlier versions of that dispute, the latest override heads for a court battle where the transcript will become more fodder for a hearing scheduled for Nov 7.
“It shows, unfortunately, that the relationship has deteriorated,” County Administrator Ed Trawinski said after the meeting. But he said no county services will be affected.
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