Commissioners discuss the reauthorization of two shared-service agreements during their final meeting of the month.
At its most recent meeting on Oct. 27, the board of commissioners re-authorized shared-service agreements for the Domestic Violence Response Team and the Project SAVE program in both the borough and Cherry Hill.
Commissioner Itir Cole asked for clarification on the obligations of the borough for the agreement with Cherry Hill, with borough Administrator Sharon McCullough and Police Chief Jason Cutler explaining the benefits and responsibilities of the agreement.
It is mandated by the state that all municipalities have a response team to offer resources and support to victims of domestic violence. The team operates 24/7 and responds within the hour to police calls.
“They advocate for the victim,” Cutler explained. “They sit with the victim. We do all the paperwork. They explain the paperwork. It’s just a friendly face, so to speak.
“When you’re dealing with domestic violence, it’s beneficial for the victim, or whoever’s you know involved, to have an advocate.”
Due to Haddonfield’s low number of calls relating to domestic violence compared with Cherry Hill, it was more cost effective for the borough to share the resource with its neighbor.
“When we first went through this, the cost would be astronomical,” said Cutler of the borough’s share. “We don’t have enough call-outs to sustain the team. So we entered into the shared-services agreement probably about 15 years ago, and it hasn’t gone up.”
The borough contributes $2,000 every year toward the response team, allowing it to fulfill its obligations to victims without shouldering the cost.
The Project Save agreement with the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services was also reauthorized. It connects the municipal court to the county initiative that joins drug and alcohol counselors with non-violent offenders struggling with addiction, allowing them to get treatment resources instead of jail time.
The agreement comes at no cost to the borough and has Mayor Dave Siedell’s support.
“We’re adding services to have for some of the homeless things, so that we’re dealing with this was attractive to me,” he said.
The 250th anniversary of the Navy and Marines was commemorated in a proclamation at the beginning of the commissioners’ meeting. The board also recognized Veterans Day and several veterans from American Legion Post 38 for the World War II Veterans Remembrance Month.
Commissioner Frank Troy, a Navy veteran himself, gave each of the proclamations.
“We have long recognized that our veterans of World War II are a special bunch of people, often heralded as the greatest generation that have been a major resource to our nation,” Troy read.
The commissioners also voted on a motion to suspend parking enforcement for the holiday shopping season of Nov. 28 through Dec. 31. Illegal parking will still be enforced.
