COUNCIL ACTS TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE BOROUGH FROM BIG MAC
The Free Press, September 4, 2003

In the end, borough council didn’t have much choice. Sign the Bucks County Mutual Aid Agreement, or lose federal funding. An offer they couldn’t refuse. They might have refused the other Upper Bucks police departments. After all, they had done so for years. They might, at least for a while, have refused Richland Township, which had held up a key piece of zoning until Quakertown agreed to help it’s neighbors. The borough didn’t actually need the zoning change immediately anyhow. And, easiest of all, they might have refused the residents. They have become quite good at doing so.

But they couldn’t refuse the Feds. Tom Ridge and the homies at Homeland Security. The 400 pound gorilla. Tom said “sign”, and council croaked “how quickly?” Well, about two weeks, because that’s how long it’s been since The Free Press revealed to the citizens, and to council, that all municipalities have to sign the Agreement by 2004, or lose their federal money.

Elfriede Werner, the councilwoman who has been heading up the 3-person committee which, I have learned, plans major changes in the Quakertown police force, announced last week that the borough will sign the Agreement on Wednesday, September 3rd.

While this is unquestionably a step in the right direction, don’t get too excited yet. Signing had become a no-brainer, even for council. The real test will come on September 29th, when Werner’s committee reports it’s findings and makes recommendations to council at a public meeting. Then we’ll see if our leaders are really our leaders, or still stuck in the grip of Police Chief James McFadden. Remember, they went through an almost identical process in the mid-1990’s, and then ignored virtually every recommendation made by the state.

But believe it or not, Council is actually showing signs of life. They have already met with borough officers without Big Mac present. They have surveyed seven neighboring municipalities on police procedures, and used Chief Paul Dickinson of Perkasie as a consultant. Nothing has been officially announced yet, but expect big changes.

Expect QPD officers to be given a new range of badly-needed weapons. Expect McFadden to be given a written set of guidelines for running the department. If he deviates from them, he will be written up under civil service rules. And after the third strike, expect him to be fired. Council tried this in the 1990’s, but a judge backed the Mac. This time, if they are smart, they will make the written rules very specific, so McFadden can’t get around them.

Originally, council president Ray Fulmer tried to hold up Werner’s report until after the November election. Apparently even HE later recognized how blatant a coverup this was, because Werner plans to have the job completed long before the voters decide whether to keep the current council members in power. It appears that the First Lady of Quakertown has more cajones than some men on the council.

For those of you who are not familiar with your elected leaders, Elfriede Werner is a feisty 75-year old survivor of Nazi Germany. She witnessed first hand the sheer tyranny of power in the wrong hands. Elfriede’s daughter, Rosi Weiss, says that her mother has never talked about those days. But you can certainly believe that they were indelibly imprinted into her memory. So when she sees the police chief usurp the power of borough council, and make bad decisions that endanger both the police and residents, she is upset. But without allies on council, she has been powerless.

Powerless to act when McFadden refused to allow his officers to chase suspects beyond the borough limits. Powerless to act when officers were not permitted to prosecute arrests. Powerless to act when QPD officers were forbidden from assisting neighboring departments, or accepting assistance from them. Powerless to act to properly arm the force.

Powerless to act when McFadden refused to allow QPD officers to attend the funeral of Werner’s husband, Pop, a beloved 30-year veteran of the force who died last year. Powerless to act when McFadden issued the same absurd edict when Werner’s son-in-law, former QPD officer Carl Weiss, died in the same year.

Ironically, it took another chief, Stu Woods of Richland, to get the Bucks County Fraternal Order of Police to pressure McFadden into allowing his men to attend. McFadden himself did not. And it was Woods, not McFadden, who helped Werner obtain her benefits. Finally, when Woods himself died, McFadden would not allow his men to attend THAT funeral, or stand honor guard at the Woods house with all the other police departments.

When asked about McFadden, Werner said that he does good police work, but has a bad style of “governing”. When reminded that “governing” is the job of council, not the police chief, she just smiled as if to say “That’s the whole problem, isn’t it?”.

In the past I have referred to council as “whipped dogs”, and even suggested how they might become “top dogs”. Well, on Monday, September 29th, they will have the opportunity to show that they are at least not “old dogs”, since they might actually be learning a new trick. It is called “defy the chief”. Take back control of the borough, properly arm the police, and make sure McFadden abides by the new rules. Do what is best for the residents, not what is best for the Mac.

If not, there is still that election in November.