Albert Pearson (l.) & Vincent Schwartz
HARRISON –
Albert Pearson did it. So did Vincent Schwartz.
They both took advantage of the New Jersey intergovernmental transfer program to get new public safety jobs with the Town of Harrison.
As explained by the N.J. Civil Service Commission website, the procedure allows state, county and local employees to shift from one jurisdiction to another while exploring new career options and maintaining their job protection rights.
Municipalities that hire these employees save money because they don’t have to pay for the several months of training uniformed workers normally take before they are assigned regular duties. They’ve already done their training.
In Harrison’s case, Albert Pearson was “drafted” from his prior job as a Hudson County Sheriff’s officer – he’d been working there since mid- February – to serve as a Harrison police officer. He started his new job June 1.
A Harrison resident, Pearson served with a U.S. Marine Corps’ security forces infantry unit from April 2000 to July 2004. After completing his military service, Pearson worked in various sales jobs and private security before he was hired by the sheriff’s department.
As a Harrison cop, he was placed on step 1 of the salary guide, at an annual salary of $36,771.
With his employment, the Harrison Police Department now has a work force of 36 or two below what the department’s Table of Organization calls for, according to Town Clerk/Town Attorney Paul Zarbetski.
The Harrison Fire Department has become the new home for Firefighter Vincent Schwartz, who had previously worked for the Jackson Township Fire Department as a firefighter/EMT/instructor for more than seven years.
After his appointment as a Harrison firefighter June 1, at an annual pay of $51,235, the town Fire Department became one slot closer to reaching its T.O. of 29 employees, said Fire Director Harold Stahl.
“The [Civil Service] list for firefighter had expired but the town was anxious to fill out our roster,” Stahl said.
Stahl said the department remains one fire captain short of its T.O. complement of six. For the lieutenant rank, all six slots are currently filled, he said.
Two members of the department are eligible to file for retirement, Stahl said, “but I’m not expecting them to go this year. Since I’ve been here, the Harrison Fire Department has jelled into a cohesive unit.”
Schwartz, a Toms River resident, attended the U.S. Naval Academy as a midshipman for two years before enrolling in Ocean County College’s paramedic didactic program and, later in Camden County College’s paramedic education management program.
He worked as an EMT for Quality Medical Transport of Bayville for two years and as a paramedic for MONOC in Wall Township before joining the Jackson Township Fire Department.
Schwartz said he opted for the job in Harrison because, “there’s more opportunity for advancement and it’s a better [work] schedule.”
– Ron Leir
