Dear Editor,
On Wednesday morning, March 11, the Village of Owego Mayor Millar held a press conference where in he made unsubstantiated and irresponsible allegations of improprieties surrounding a mailing informing the general public a summary of the Village Public Safety Committee of the Village Board of Trustees’ research, to date, on the issue of providing policing services for the Village.
The information provided to the public is in keeping with the mandate given to the Public Safety Committee when the Village Board commissioned the Committee on Jan. 10, 2015.
The Village Public Safety Committee was charged with gathering preliminary data from the Tioga County Sherriff’s Department concerning the provision of police services to the Village based on specific levels of staffing and commitments that were provided in writing to the Tioga County Public Safety Committee in an open meeting attended by the Mayor and many members of his political party, Rebuild Owego.
It was made clear at the open meeting with the Tioga County Public Safety Committee that these inquiries into the county providing policing services for the Village were exploratory only as the Village Public Safety Committee was seeking factual information as part of a response to Village residents asking for options for comparable policing of the Village on the most cost effective basis.
The documents provided to the Tioga County Public Safety Committee by the Village Public Safety Committee were made public and were based on efforts to ensure that the Sherriff’s Department would provide the same level of service that is expected of the Village police department. “IF THE PEOPLE CHOSE to go that route.” But, for the people, meaning all of the Village voters, not just a select few, to make any decision they need the data they requested provided to them, which has been done.
For many residents it is hard to get to the Village meetings. That does not mean they deserve any less consideration in being provided the information they requested of their respective Trustees. It is easy for a few residents to take to the spotlight and derail what other residents have asked to be researched and information provided to them so they can make an informed response.
So many times in the past the Village Board made decisions based on a few loud and strident voices without getting or giving fair and due consideration to all the Village residents. That is not responsible representation.
In order to get the information to residents for their consideration and input, we needed to communicate it through a mailing. The flyer requesting resident opinion was sent as the next step in the Village Public Safety Committee’s efforts to involve the public. It gave the residents a base that will enable them to come and discuss with the Village Public Safety Committee a way to achieve their chosen option(s). It was the next step in the process the Village Board charged to this committee to tackle as a task.
There was never any desire or intent to make the Village Policing a political issue on the part of the Village Public Safety Committee or the A+ Positive Change Party as the focus was, and should remain on providing the Village residents with the data they requested.
Unfortunately, the Mayor and Rebuild Party made that decision when they started posting on social media and in the press that they wanted the Owego Police Department issue to be a “True Public Referendum” in the upcoming March 18, 2015 Village elections.
That immediately politicized an issue that should not have been. So with the Mayor and Rebuild Owego Party continuously misstating facts in hopes of frightening residents into voting them into office, the Village policing options were released so the Village voters can at least have the options under consideration for the policing of the Village of Owego and are better able to make their opinions known to their representatives.
Sincerely,
Steven May
Village of Owego Trustee
