Note: This article was updated to reflect several salient points related to Sloatsburg’s police coverage, including year of the village’s dissolution of its police department and how the village and town interact for police coverage.
The Village of Sloatsburg gave up its own police department around 1990 as a purported cost-saving measure. But for some residents the short-term savings in personnal and equipment had a long-term cost in loss of local control, especially as it related to the policing of Rt. 17 through the central village. Village officials often receive complaints about traffic control on Rt. 17 and the reportedly periodic absence of Ramapo Police.
Sloatsburg receives police coverage from the Town of Ramapo Police Department, as mandated by the New York Municipal Code, and receives a one car patrol, made per a service assessment by the town. Sloatsburg at one time had a mutually beneficial traffic patrol contract with the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department but outside political pressure by the county legislature apparently ended that relationship. Oftentimes, Hillburn and Sloatsburg, villages adjacent to one another, share a one car RPD patrol.
The Village of Airmont also receives police service from Ramapo. But that costly service is reportedly under review by Airmont, according to Richard Gandon, who reported in the Rocklandstar.com Monday, April 14, that Airmont has considered ditching Ramapo for Suffern for its police coverage. Citing costs and coverage complaints, Airmont reportedly is reviewing what Suffern police coverage might look like for the village. Suffern is one of the town’s few villages that has complete municipal services, from police and fire to public works, water, and sewage.
“I have nothing against the Town of Ramapo Police department” said Village of Airmont Trustee Ralph Bracco, “Ramapo Police Chief Brower has told me numerous times that Airmont gets one police car for the entire village and that’s all we’re going to get. As an elected official I have to do what’s in the best interests of the taxpayers in Airmont. If we can save money and get more coverage then we have to look at that.”
In the 2011-2012 budget year, Chief Brower was purportedly New York State’s highest paid municipal employee, earning some $321k with bonuses, longevity pay and other incentives — for example, every time the chief pays his respects at a village board meeting somewhere in the town, he’s paid extra for that attendance. With 120 officers, Ramapo’s total 2013 police budget exceeded $30 million dollars, with the average full-time police officer salary tipping the pay scale at $150k, according to 2011-12 figures.
The Suffern Police Department would have to add personnel to patrol Airmont, but the village reportedly would receive nearly triple the coverage for considerably less expense.
“I think that this presents a great opportunity for both villages” said Suffern Mayor Trish Abato. “Our Police department led by Chief Clarke Osborn has done a great job in Suffern and he and the men and women in our department can deliver that same level of professionalism and dedication to the residents of Airmont,” Abato added.
Suffern Deputy Mayor Jo Meegan-Corrigan echoed the sentiment saying “Everyone knows how safe Suffern is and what a great job our people do. If we can save the Village of Airmont money while providing a higher level of service and bring additional revenues to our Village everybody benefits.”
Suffern’s Own Police Department Dilemma
When Mayor Trish Abato first took office in 2014, one of her first acts was to promote an early retirement program for long-serving police officers in the SPD. The effort would help reduce the number of high salaries on the department’s payroll as well as open up slots for new officers.
The early retirement effort was an aggressive (and smart) measure to reign in the Suffern Police Department budget, which accounts for nearly a third of the village’s projected 2015 budget. The Public Safety line item comes in at $4.5 million dollars and includes both police and fire — with fire protection taking up approximately $350k of the total budget. The Suffern police department retirement fund adds an additional $785k to the village budget.
The Suffern Fire Department is made up of all volunteers.
Of the SPD’s 29 full-time officers, 18 earn more than $100k per year, with 12 of those officers due to earn over $130k. As with the Ramapo Police Department, the top earning officers on the payroll cause an escalation in salary and benefits that raises the rate of pay for the entire department.
Abato’s early retirement program, in tandem with the possible expansion of the SPD’s services, will help reorient the cost of the department to the village.
The state and county mantra of shared services might benefit the Suffern/Airmont police coverage, but at this time it’s unclear what measures the two villages would have to take to make the police services alliance work.
New York state law mandates that towns must provide police coverage to villages within the town’s jurisdication that do not maintain their own police departments. There are provisions under NY state’s General Municipal code related to mutual shared service agreements, but it’s not clear how Airmont would save on police services if the village had to pay both the Ramapo and Suffern police departments.
Ramapo Deputy Town Supervisor and Suffern resident Pat Withers, a longtime supporter of the Suffern Police Department, commended the Suffern Police Department in Gandon’s article, saying “If you call 911, you’ll have four Suffern police officers on your front lawn in about three minutes.”
Richard Gandon’s original reporting on this issue contributed to this article.
