New Public Safety Director Is 'Excited' to Begin Post
Michael "Mickey" King said he will train the department to find its next chief.
Michael P. King said he’s “really excited” to take on his new post as public safety director here in Cinnaminson.
King was selected at Monday night’s committee meeting to lead the police department by a 3-1 vote.
Mayor Kathy Fitzpatrick called King, of Mercerville, a “recognized authority on community policing methods.”
King retired in 2007 as the chief of detectives for the county prosecutor’s office.
Read more about his career history here.
Stephen Fazekas, vice president of the Burlington County Chiefs of Police Association, submitted a letter of endorsement to the township on behalf of King. It read the group has “complete confidence” in King to “develop and mentor the next chief of police for your police department.”
King said Monday night he will lead the department in training and leadership skills over the next year or two to cultivate a police chief, a position the township expressed an interest in returning to.
Fitzpatrick said the township decided to go the way of a public safety director since retirements left no one at the local level with enough experience to take the civil service test to become chief.
“I want to focus on the positive,” King said, and already met with some of the officers.
Lt. Tim Young, who is currently in the top spot of the Cinnaminson Police Department following Acting Police Chief Steve Fowles April retirement, said King will not have a problem fitting in with the police department here.
“He is well-respected in the law enforcement community,” Young said, “and I respect him personally.”
Fitpatrick and Committeeman John Rooney, liaison to the police department, both sat on the committee to interview public safety director candidates. Rooney was absent from Monday's meeting. Fitzpatrick, Deputy Mayor Don Brauckmann and Committeeman Anthony Minniti all voted to hire King.
Committeeman Ben Young voted no, and during committee comments, congratulated King on his appointment and said his "no" vote has "nothing to do with [him] personally."
King will start his post on June 28. His salary is $80,000 with no benefits.
Kenya
9:12 am on Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Good luck to you Mr king. One comment though I for the life of me can not understand why Mr Ben Young can NOT make up his mind. He is one of the committee members that pushed for this position????
Kathy Thompson
9:45 am on Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Congratulations on your appointment Mr. King. I think you will be impressed with the excellent staff here in Cinnaminson. I wonder are you considering relocating to our lovely township? I hope so, residents here have much at stake in decisions surrounding our safety and the safety of our children.
Cindy Pierson
3:29 pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2011
While I join others in congratulating Mr. King, and welcoming him to Cinnaminson, I'm a bit confused about this whole situation. Why is he going to train the department to find its next chief if township ordinances were amended to abolish the position of chief? And if the township is interested in returning to having a chief of police, why did we go through all of the anquish associated with getting rid of the position? Won't the ordinances have to be amended again to reinstitute the position of chief? I do understand that this is not really the place to ask specific questions of the committee, and I realize that there are undoubtedly many other considerations the public is not aware of that the committee has to deal with in all of its decisions. I guess I'm just hoping that perhaps someone who has a better grasp of the situation could explain it to me in layman's terms.
paula
4:09 pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Cindy,
I had the same questions when I read the article at lunch. If the ordinance abolished the chief position is it permanently abolished or was this an interim change until a police officer could qualify for the position? No information on whether or not this a "term" position.
ChrisR
7:00 pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I was surprised too. I thought the position was in lieu of a chief. Couldn't they have just found someone qualified to be chief from another town? Or, perhaps merge with another town's department. Well, it'll save $ for a few years and the department will surely benefit from his leadership. I'm sure it won't cause the town "anguish", so welcome aboard!
Cindy Pierson
7:04 pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I have learned that amending the ordinance again would not be a difficult thing, and that the committee would make a decision to do so based on a variety of factors. It appears that they are going to stay on top of the situation and try to do what they feel is in everyone's best interest. Mr. King's ability to guide one of our own officers towards becoming chief should be very helpful, and the end result will be what most of us wanted- a police chief who comes from the department and knows our town.
Michael Makinson
2:49 pm on Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Welcome to Cinnaminson Mr. King.
FbS
7:15 pm on Wednesday, June 22, 2011
congrats Mr. King..
Steve Piotrowski
10:13 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
You got to love though double dippers. This guy already has a pension from the state at $83,842.68 per year. I hope he's not going to get a pension from this job too. See link and info below. So he is probably making as much money from the state ($84K + $80K = $164K) as what the Governor gets paid. This is crazy!!
http://php.app.com/retireNJ/details.php?recordID=30477
Report Year December 2011
Name KING, MICHAEL
Year of Birth 1956
Retire Cause Special - applies to PFRS & SPRS only
Final Agency BURLINGTON COUNTY/PAYROLL DEPT
Fund Name PFRS - Police and Firemen's Retirement System
Retire Date 2007-06
Final Avg. Salary $122,085
Months of Service 321
Retire Type MEMBER
Monthly Pension $6,790.97
Monthly COLA $195.92
Monthly Supplemental $0.00
Monthly Allowance $6,986.89
Annual Pension $83,842.68