Twelve Hoboken police officers received promotions Thursday afternoon at a feel-good ceremony at the Demarest Middle School. Wearing white gloves and immaculately-starched blue uniforms, seven new sergeants and five new lieutenants were sworn in by City Clerk James Farina, as Police Chief Carmen LaBruno, Mayor Anthony Russo and more than 75 friends and family members looked on. The officers won their promotions by scoring higher than their peers on a battery of written and visual tests that analyzed their understanding of the law and police procedures. As he posed for pictures with the new officers and their families, the mayor's grin was extra-wide. He and his aides were quick to claim that the promotions were not just good for the new officers, but good for the department and the taxpayers. "Since Mayor Russo took office in 1993, we've worked hard to modernize the police department and restructure it," said Business Administrator George Crimmins during the ceremony. "In particular, we wanted to make it work better for Hoboken's taxpayers. The first thing we had to do was make reductions. We eliminated a significant number of superior positions. But we told the union that if they worked with us, we would be in a position to increase the force in the future." When Russo came into office, Crimmins said, the ratio of patrolmen to superiors was one to one, but as of yesterday, the ratio had leveled off to "an ideal" three to one. Some of the budgetary pressure on the department has been relieved thanks to federal grant monies that have flowed like water downhill into the city in recent years. Thanks to the federal COPS program that helps put new community police officers on the street, Russo said that the city had been able to hire more than 60 new officers in the last three years. Administration critics have wondered aloud what will happen to those new hires when the federal grant money from the program dries up - as is expected in the next two to three years - but Russo was adamant Thursday that the city would continue to find a way to sustain its police force without adding an extra burden on the taxpayers. "This administration has vision," he said. "There will be no layoffs in the police department." In addition to the COPS funding, Crimmins said that the unions have cooperated with the administration in finding ways to reduce the department's budget. "These new officers agreed to wave their first year's salary increases that they are entitled to with their promotions," he explained. "The union has also been modest in asking for increases and they have lowered their vacation entitlements. All that is good for the taxpayer." After the ceremony, Police Chief Carmen LaBruno said the event provided a "morale boost" for the department since it showed that achieving promotions were possible. Four of the men who received promotions punched in for the first time just three years ago. Although several of the speakers were officials who attempted to put the promotions in the larger political context, many of the newly sworn-in officers also received slaps on the back from other patrolmen. "Finally, it was my turn to shine," said Sgt. William Godhe, a long-time member of the force. Also honored at the event were 60 patrolmen and officers whose efforts over the last year were considered outstanding, and James Perez and Ben Rotondi, a pair of patrolmen who won "Patrolman of the Year" awards. Police officers Martin Tavarez, Dennis Figueroa, Lourdes Labrador, Angelo Andriani, Kevin Cruz, Enrico Gnassi and William Godhe were promoted to sergeant. Sergeants Walter Lehbrink Jr., Daniel LoBue, Timothy McCourt, Mark Competello and John Rutkowski were sworn in as lieutenants.