Bergen freeholders scrap police merger - New Jersey's Home | News, Weather, Sports | WWORTV | My9

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — Bergen County freeholders have narrowly defeated a plan to merge the county's police department with the sheriff's office.

Wednesday's 3-2 vote included two abstentions and capped more than a year of debate.

The proposal called for disbanding the 89-member, 95-year-old department, and merging it with the sheriff's office as a way to save money.

However, The Record newspaper reports County Executive Kathleen Donovan called the ordinance "idiotic" and vowed it would never be implemented.