The Paterson Police Department will see a massive infusion from NJ's new budget: How much?

PATERSON — New Jersey’s 2024 budget will pump an extra $10 million into the Paterson Police Department as part of the state’s ongoing takeover of the troubled law enforcement agency, city officials said.

State officials have not yet provided details on how exactly the additional money would be spent, nor have they said whether this would be one-time funding or part of an annual allocation.

What did city leaders and advocates say?

City officials welcomed the extra resources, but social justice activists raised concern about the increased police funding.

“The Paterson Police Department was promised resources, and it is encouraging that $10 million has been earmarked for continued investment in my administration’s top priority: public safety,” Mayor Andre Sayegh said.

Exclusive: NJ attorney general first considered Paterson police takeover in 2022

Paterson Black Lives Matter leader Zellie Thomas disagreed with providing so much extra funding for a department he said “has not been held accountable” for its misdeeds. Instead, he asserted, extra money ought to be spent on Paterson community groups and addressing the city’s social problems.

“Putting more money into the Police Department isn’t going to solve the issues we have,” Thomas said. “So far, everything the state has been doing has been the exact opposite of what social justice groups have been asking for.”

A 20% increase in spending

Paterson’s Police Department budget last year totaled $43.8 million, most of that covering officers’ salaries. An extra $10 million would amount to an increase in city police spending of more than 20%.

Officials at Gov. Phil Murphy’s office referred questions about the extra funding to the state’s Treasury Department, which said the Attorney General’s Office would have the information. The Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how the money would be used.

“It is our understanding the funding will support fariranging efforts, from new initiatives to overtime needs to technology, and we look forward to more details in the weeks ahead,” said Paterson Business Administrator Kathleen Long.

Earlier: Why activists are taking a 'wait-and-see' approach on Paterson Police Department takeover

There is no indication Paterson would be allowed to increase the state’s limit of 439 police officers for the city. In May, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the Police Department was understaffed. The city had more than 500 officers in 2011 before 125 were laid off in budget cuts.

At the end of June, the state-appointed officer in charge in Paterson, Isa Abbassi, launched a series of anti-crime initiatives, including a crackdown along Broadway, that were based on officers working overtime and off-duty assignments.

In the weeks since the Broadway operation began, public officials and community leaders said the main thoroughfare has changed dramatically with the disappearance of the zombie-like drug addicts who roamed the street for years.

Leadership shuffles

Abbassi last week issued a press release announcing several leadership changes in the department, mostly reassignments of people who already held high-ranking positions to different jobs.

'Taking back Broadway': Paterson police put new focus on longtime desolation row

“It is important that we recognize the talent that already exists in the PPD,” Abbassi said. “Part of that is ensuring that we select the right people, with the right skills, and put them in the right positions.”

One of the changes that Abbassi did not mention in his press release was the retirement of Deputy Police Chief Ronald Van Kluyve.

Van Kluyve’s departure, which took effect July 1, leaves the Police Department with one deputy chief, Lourdes Phelan. At this time a year ago, the department had three deputy chiefs and one chief. But the chief, Mike Baycora, was fired last fall, and his replacement, Engelbert Ribeiro, was reassigned to a police training commission in Trenton as part of the state takeover.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.

Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ Police Department getting $10M from NJ budget