Town of Ossining Police Decision
A Vision for the Future
Catherine Borgia, Town Supervisor, Ossining
One of the most significant responsibilities local municipal officials have is to plan beyond the municipality’s immediate future and to put into place the systems that will allow the community to thrive long after their own service is done. Often, that need for long-term vision is engulfed by the overwhelming needs of the present. Particularly, in times of an economic downturn, it is common for immediate needs to outweigh long term planning concerns due to the demands of day-to-day operations. Right now, local governments have an immediate responsibility to taxpayers to provide services that preserve the high quality of life in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.
On Tuesday, September 28, 2010, the Ossining Town Board made a historic decision to outsource police services by entering into a contract with the County of Westchester. The Town Board was at the same time analyzing a proposal from the Village of Ossining to provide similar police services. This decision was based on a long, public discussion. All documents were made available on the Town of Ossining’s website at every stage of the process, and many constituents shared their opinions with the Town Board members.
The decision to partner with the County of Westchester was the result of many hours of deliberation, analysis, and extensive community outreach. We chose the county option because we felt it was the best fit for the needs of our municipality. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate how local governments can make decisions in challenging economic times that provide long-term benefits for taxpayers.
The Ossining Town Police Department serves the area of the Town of Ossining that is referred to as the “unincorporated area” or the “Town-Outside” the two villages. It is a portion of the Town that is in neither of the two incorporated villages, Ossining and Briarcliff Manor, all of which comprise the Town of Ossining.
The Town of Ossining has an excellent, progressive police department, noted for its exceptional community policing efforts. However, the Town realized several years ago that the cost of running a 17-member department in an area where there is very little crime was using a disproportional amount of taxpayer resources.
In an effort to address this concern, the Town worked with the governments of the Villages of Ossining and Briarcliff Manor on an 18-month study with ICMA, an international municipal consulting firm, which analyzed the costs of each entities separate police agency and recommended that the three departments merge. While that recommendation did not turn out to be a feasible option for political and jurisdictional reasons, the data provided in the analysis made it clear to the Town Board that we had to make a change for the betterment of our taxpayers.
The main responsibility of any local government is to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of its residents, in this case by providing the high level of community policing. Each of the two proposals before the Town Board would provide excellent policing to the impacted residents. Both proposals would also provide substantial tax savings for Town-Outside residents. The Town Board chose to work with the county because we determined that in the long term, consolidating back office operations, such as supervision, dispatching, and technology, made sense.
In Westchester, the high fixed costs of operating dozens of small police departments has become an unsustainable burden on property tax payers. Westchester County will have existing Town of Ossining police officers operating out of a Town-owned police facility as a “precinct,” which is the best way to preserve the elements of local policing that Westchester residents enjoy and expect – the local police presence at community event, the friendly assistance, the officer at school dismissal. All of the Town’s community policing initiatives will be preserved under this merger with the County. The proposal provides that the Town of Ossining will contract to pay the County approximately $2.1 million per year for police services, approximately $900,000 less that the cost of the Town’s police department. The County will use 11 uniform officers and 1 detective to patrol the Town-Outside. The remaining members of the current Ossining Town Police department will be hired to fill existing vacancies in the County force, which would have been filled whether or not this arrangement occurred. Therefore, the arrangement does not cost County taxpayers or taxpayers in either of the two villages within the Town of Ossining any additional money.
Another factor that weighed heavily into our decision-making process was the feedback we received from community members, particularly those who would be impacted by the change. While there were differences of opinion, many more Town-Outside residents urged the Town Council to choose the County proposal. All elected officials are helped in their decision-making when interested citizens participate in the process. We had several community meetings, including two Town Hall meetings where the questions and opinions from residents helped to clarify our decision. We offer our thanks to all who shared their thoughts with us during the process.
This is a unique time in our history, as a municipality and as a county. We believe that the Town of Ossining’s decision will lead to many good things in neighboring municipalities. The opportunity and willingness to share between municipalities and the county has never been greater. The Town and Villages of Ossining, for example, are set to sign three new, updated Intermunicipal Agreements to save taxpayer dollars within the next few weeks. Other communities might wish to keep their own police departments, however, they can still look for ways to regionalize some operations, such as shared civilian dispatch of police and extraordinary emergency calls.
The Ossining Town Board would like to thank all who participated in this process, including Town of Ossining Police Chief Mark Busche, the Town of Ossining Police Benevolent Association, former Ossining Town Police Chief Kenneth Donato, the Villages of Ossining and Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County Department of Public Safety, Commissioner Longworth and his staff, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety Police Benevolent Association, and County Executive Rob Astorino, our County Legislator Bill Burton and the entire County Board of Legislators.
Now, the work of sorting out the details of the agreement begins. The Town of Ossining has taken the first step into a better future. We are resolved to make this new model for consolidated community policing a success. It is our hope and belief that other municipalities will follow this path to a better future for their citizens as well.
Send comments and questions regarding the two proposals to cborgia@townofossining.com.
Town Hall Informational Meeting - Notes from September 13, 2010 (PDF)
Town Hall Informational Meeting - Notes from August 26, 2010 (PDF)
Questions and Answers Regarding Town of Ossining Policing Proposals
Q. How will each proposal impact my property taxes if I live in the Town-Outside? My police services?
A. Both proposals will save taxpayers in the Unincorporated part of the Town tax dollars. The county proposal provides the same officers working from the same building; the end-user experience will be virtually unchanged. The village proposal will provide police service from an integrated police force located on Spring Street. Both proposals assure the health, safety, and welfare of the Town-outside residents.
Q. How will each proposal impact my property taxes if I live in the Village of Ossining or Village of Briarcliff? My police services?
A. The County proposal will not have an impact on either your taxes or the way you receive police services in either village. If the Town merges with the Village of Ossining, the Town will pay the Village the cost of providing police services. Village residents’ property taxes and police services will be unchanged.
Q. When I call for the police, from where will they be dispatched?
A. Under the County proposal, police come from road patrol, or from the police building on North State Road. Under the Village proposal, police come to calls from road patrol or from police building on Spring Street. The County proposal uses technology to share dispatching and other back-office functions.
Q. If we accept the Village’s proposal, how will the Village police handle the Town-outside? Won’t most Village police resources be focused mostly on the downtown area?
A. The Village proposal guarantees the same level of police service will be provided to Town-outside residents as is currently provided to Village residents.
Q. How will 911 emergency service calls be handled in each proposal?
A. 911 calls will be handled the exact same way they are now. In the County proposal, the police desk on North State Road will receive 911 calls dealing with ambulance and fire, they are identified by the 911 monitor/system, and they will then be transferred to the village of Ossining or Briarcliff Manor, which ever is appropriate. Under the Village proposal, the police desk on Spring Street will receive 911 calls and dispatch them in the same manner.
Q. Don’t we have integrated police services with Westchester County already? How will the County proposal be different?
A. Yes, every municipality in Westchester has access to Westchester County police services when and if they need them. The County’s proposal makes the efforts more seamless and the communication more efficient. There is also an opportunity for additional cost savings through merging back office functions.
Q. What will happen to the Police Headquarters on North State Road?
A. The County proposal says the county will use the Town's police building to house the Town of Ossining police “precinct” if the Town so desires. If the Town chooses the County proposal, we would ask them to work out of that building, so that the "end-user" experience for residents would be that same as current operations.
The village proposal does not make reference to the building.
Under both proposals, the building remains a real property asset of the Town of Ossining, available to use or lease for police and other municipal functions, or to dispose of as the Town sees fit.
Q. What would happen to the police department equipment with each proposal?
A. In both cases, a negotiated turnover of police assets would be arranged.
Q. What about if I have a complaint about the Police?
A. Under each proposal, your first area of complaint will be the police department supervisor. The next level of complaint will still be the Town Supervisor and Town Board. The Town will become the contractor of police services, quality guarantees are part of both proposals. Protocols for addressing problems are established.
Q. What if these proposals do not work out? Can the Town re-establish a police force after the IMA runs out?
A. Yes. The Town of Ossining loses none of its rights as a municipality under either proposal, including the right to a police department.
Q. What is the process for this decision?
A. The Town Board is currently doing a detailed financial and services analysis of both proposals, working closely with the Town police department.
Questions and Answers Regarding Town of Ossining Policing Proposals (PDF)
