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Bergen County Freeholders Give Final Approval For Police, Sheriff Merger

HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - Bergen County freeholders have given final approval to ordinances that will merge the County Police Department with the Sheriff's Office.

Under the ordinances, the 98-year-old department's 95 officers will be placed under the command of Sheriff Michael Saudino.

A few years ago, after a plane ran off the runway at Teterboro Airport, Freehold Chairwoman Joan Voss described chaos.

"It was like who's on first, what's on second, you know, who was in charge? Now you're going to have one department, the sheriffs department," she told WCBS 880's Levon Putney.

Freeholder Maura DeNicola was the lone dissenter on the board. She tells The Record newspaper she's not sure the merger will save money or be more efficient.

Bergen County Freeholders Give Final Approval For Police, Sheriff Merger

Voss said the move will not cost any jobs, but will not replace those who retire.

"We expect that over a period of maybe 20 years, we're going to save almost $200 million by this consolidation," she said.

The law-enforcement consolidation was a major issue in the county executive election in November.

Democrat James Tedesco, who favored the merger, defeated Republican incumbent Kathleen Donovan. Tedseco said the merger would save between $90 million and $200 million over 25 years.

Tedesco described Wednesday's vote as "monumental.''

"It was a historic event in Bergen County law enforcement," Tedesco said.

The merger should be done by the end of summer.

 (TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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