The Borough wishes to clarify, for the benefit of our residents, the sequence of events relating to the Borough’s police promotional ordinance, and the recent promotion of Michael Dillon as Chief of Police.

The Borough wishes to clarify, for the benefit of our residents, the sequence of events relating to the Borough’s police promotional ordinance, and the recent promotion of Michael Dillon as Chief of Police. 

• In 2021, the Borough of Allendale adopted a police promotional ordinance to specify standards for eligibility and advancement.   
• To be eligible for promotion to Chief of Police, the ordinance required an officer to have been a member of the Allendale Police Department for 10 or more years, and a sergeant for 3 or more years.  As a result, only the 4 sergeants were eligible for promotion to Chief of Police.    
• When Chief Scherb announced his impending retirement in early 2021, the Borough advised each of the four sergeants (Lawler, Griffith, Mattiace and Kroepke) of its intention to commence the promotional process.   
• Prior to 2021, Chief Scherb was receiving a salary of $160,000 per year.  In 2021, his salary was raised to $170,000, in consideration of his agreement to remain as Chief through the end of 2021.  Based upon an inquiry from the four sergeants, the Borough advised that the new Chief of Police would receive a salary of $174,000, inclusive of longevity.   
• In response to the Borough’s advice as to salary, each of the four sergeants’ wrote to the Borough and indicated that he would not participate in the promotional process, thereby leaving no one eligible for promotion under the ordinance.   
• Faced with the prospect of being unable to promote a new Chief of Police, in 2021, the Borough amended the ordinance to allow any officer who had 15 or more years of service with the Allendale Police Department to participate in the promotional process.    
• As a result of the foregoing amendment, two additional officers (Dillon and Stettner) became eligible to participate in the process.  Absent the refusal by the sergeants to participate, the ordinance would not have been amended and Officers Dillon and Stettner would not have been eligible to participate in the promotional process.    
• Following the amendment of the promotional ordinance, the four sergeants reversed their earlier refusal, and six officers participated in the process established in the ordinance.     
• At the conclusion of the promotional process, Officer Dillon received the highest score of any eligible candidate, based on the scoring methodology set forth in the ordinance, and on January 3, 2022 he was promoted to Chief of Police.    
• Three of the four sergeants (Griffith, Kroepke and Mattiace) and one officer (Stettner) have now filed suit against the Borough.