Dear Editor,
The Owego Police Benevolent Association (PBA) is comprised of the police officers and police sergeants of the Village Police Department. Its mission is to represent its members in collective bargaining and their employment with the Village and to promote the good and welfare of the community in which its members serve. The PBA is constrained, in carrying out these missions, to respond to the Mayor’s recent public statements and letters in which he criticizes the PBA for not signing on to the Village’s efforts to abolish the Police Department.
Mayor May states in his Dec. 26, 2016 letter to the Pennysaver that the PBA would “not even consider the consolidation effort.” There are two factual errors in this statement. First, the Mayor and Board are not considering a “consolidation” between the Village and Sheriff’s office. They are instead proposing to abolish the Village Police Department and give all control over policing in the Village to the Sheriff.
Second, what the PBA told the Mayor was that no decision on abolition should be made at this time, based upon an opinion from a municipal economist who advised the PBA that the Village’s current financial condition could not be assessed. That is because the Village had failed to file the required state reports and existing financial reports are inaccurate according to the Village’s own auditor. As advised by the PBA’s economist, the Village should not make any significant decisions about the Police Department, or any Village service for that matter, without accurate and up to date information. Nonetheless, available records that do exist, opined the economist, show that the Village is in good financial condition.
Most importantly, however, it is not for the PBA to make the decision for Village taxpayers and residents as to the future of the Police Department and for Mayor May to throw that burden on the PBA, as he suggests in his letter to the Pennysaver, is just plain wrong. It is correct that the PBA opposes abolition of the Village Police Department, despite, as Mayor May writes, there would be the opportunity for higher salaries, more advancement and improved benefits. Members of the PBA believe that the Village benefits from a local force where it knows its police officers, controls its operations and focus. There is no guarantee that PBA members will remain policing the Village or that the Village will continue to pay the Sheriff’s Department for dedicated service after an initial time period.
There are many factors that the voters will have to consider in deciding whether to abolish its local police, but that should be and is their decision, not the PBA’s. And it shouldn’t be the Village Board’s alone, either. The voters should insist that any Board vote to abolish the Police Department be made subject to mandatory referendum so that the voters do not have to bear the burden of distributing petitions required for a permissive referendum.
Finally, the public should be aware that the Board’s assault on the Police Department continues. The 2016-2017 budget includes four police officer positions, one police sergeant and the Chief of Police. The Board has taxed Village taxpayers for these six positions, since they were all included in that budget. However, a police officer recently resigned due to his uncertain future here, and the Board has refused to fill the position. It is planning to vote to cut the position, because it says it must “avoid enacting a budget placing a tax increase upon Village residents.” That makes no sense since this position has been budgeted and paid for by Village taxpayers and the next budget will not even go into effect until Aug. 1, 2017.
Taxpayers and residents should insist that the Board fill that position now.
Yours truly,
Thomas Woodburn, President
Owego Police Benevolent Association
Fill The Position and Put A referendum on the election ballot in March! We wan’t our say before the mayor and several board members destroy it completely (officers, our safety and the very OPD building itself)! Believe me when I say the public won’t agree with this ridiculousness.
Grew up in the Village of Owego during the times of Herb Billings to Hop Snyder. Back when officers weren’t out to “get ya” but used their positions to consider safety first, getting to know their villagers, and kicking ass when it needed it.
Crime and hard drugs has increased immensely YET the board’s solutions are to cut back, if not cut ALL, police protection. How ignorant is this theory?
Officers lying in wait late at night to pull one over for a blown license plate light, taking too wide of a left hand swing onto the Court St. bridge, going 2 miles over the 30 mph speed limit or tailgating a vehicle in hopes of them screwing up, just alienates community support. (This includes the Sheriff department). I understand tickets are revenue and many could be written during the day for rolling stops, stopping way beyond stop lines, passing stopped school busses, underaged kids walking the streets smoking, etc.
Our Village NEEDS police supervision now more than anytime before. Between the hard drugs and domestic violence which is increasing, why would the leaders even consider eliminating these vital personal. Are THEY going to be the first responders when scared little Suzie dials 911 because her sister is being molested, mom is being beaten, a stranger has broken into her home. “Hang tight kid, help will get there whenever they can” !
Mayor and Trustees, instead of looking at the dollars and cents, look at the big picture which is PROTECTION, SAFETY and YOUR COMMITMENT to the community you serve.