>Another transplant says shared services lead to poor service and no cost savings
I am a transplant from high taxed Nassau County where my husband and I grew up and started our family. Our regional police force was the Nassau County PD. I can tell you first hand that none of us would be happy with a regional police service. They were great when you needed a helicopter search for a missing child and a SWAT team, but forget it for day to day problems such as parking, loud parties, vandalism or other quality of life issues. It took them 20-30 minutes to respond and half the time you would be told on the phone to go to the local precinct (two towns away) if you needed to file a simple police report.
Nassau has had a regional county force for decades and it does not translate to lower property taxes in any way shape or form.
Many of the towns on do Nassau pay the extra money to have there own local police because the service from the county is so bad. Even my brother, a captain and 22 year member of the Nassau County Police bought a house in a Nassau community with its own police department.
We have lived in Ridgewood for just over 11 years and the community based services, especially the police, are so much better. They are far more responsive and a part of the community, not an outside contractor who just wants to quickly take your information hurry then get to the next call in another town.
Our taxes in Nassau were no better then and my family there now is paying about the same that we are In Ridgewood. In Nassau they say the PD is the highest paid in the nation, in NJ we say that. What I do know is that the service here is much better. You might save on a few local Chiefs but you will have more Deputy Inspectors, Inspectors, Assistant Chiefs, Deputy Chiefs, Chief and a Commissioner with deputies and assistants. No savings and less cops in the street.
