Muttontown May Get New Police Force

Village of Muttontown officials have decided to create their own police department and end a long affiliation with the Old Brookville Police on May 31.

“[We] intend to have a new police department in place June first,” Muttontown Mayor Julianne Beckerman told Syosset Patch, adding that the proposed Muttontown Village Police will give residents more protection and hold the line on costs.

According to Beckerman, Muttontown residents pay for more than their share of the Old Brookville Police Department. She said the amount was about to go from about $2.8 million a year to about $3 million a year, while the percentages paid by the other six villages covered by the department were going down.

“The percentage of funding contributions coming from the residents of Muttontown was to grow a full percentage point,” said Beckerman, who said the formula is based on Nassau’s flawed assessment system. “We were going to go from 25.4 percent to 26.4 percent of the budget. That set off alarm bells for us, because we have very similar demographics to all of the other communities serviced by the Old Brookville Police Department.”

Trustees Take Action

Last week, on March 22, the Muttontown Trustees adopted a resolution establishing a Village of Muttontown Police Department. The trustees gave other villages covered by the Old Brookville Department until March 24 to agree to some terms – including keeping the contribution level the same in 2011/12 as it was the previous budget year. 

Beckerman said, “The other villages made it perfectly clear that they had no inclinations to work with us.”  As a result, the resolution took effect on March 25, and the village is to still be covered by the Old Brookville Police Department until May 31.

Beckerman said the village is now developing its own police force. According to her, it can be done for less than $3 million a year, plus start-up costs.

“Bottom line is, we can start it up," she said. "We can have our own department and hold the budget line, and not go up to the $3 million. That is with all new cars, all new equipment."

She also said Muttontown residents will get more protection,  “With more dedicated officers to our village than we have under the current model. The Old Brookville Police Department has at any one time; at most, six police cars on the road to cover seven villages. Our model will have 24/7, two dedicated cars to the village of Muttontown and it will have a third car on to cover the busier times.”

Police Union President Expresses Doubts

However, Detective Chris Sweeney, the President of the Old Brookville Police Union, said it’s not that simple.

“We feel that this issue is not really about money, we feel it’s about the mayor wanting more control in the police budget, more control over the other six villages," Sweeney said. 

He also disputes claims that Muttontown pays too much. Sweeney said that Muttontown has the most roads to patrol and the most calls for service.

“Muttontown is actually a very busy village,” he said, adding that on March 21 the Old Brookville Police Department responded to several calls at about the same time in Muttontown, involving a domestic dispute, a car crash and a transformer that blew.

“You had every single car at that time, responding to a call in Muttontown,” Sweeney said, pointing out that six cars used on March 21 would be more than the two or three cars available in the proposed Muttontown Police Department.

Sweeney also questions whether the new department will have enough supervisors to respond to calls when they’re needed; and whether there will be enough officers to transport DWI suspects  - while still having officers on patrol.

“The police department that she is proposing will not come near the service that the Old Brookville Police Department provides the residents,” Sweeney said. “Safety will be a concern for the residents.”

He also added that some Muttontown residents who oppose the formation of a new police department are attempting to put a petition together, that would call for a referendum, so that residents could vote on the issue. He says the referendum would be paid for by private funds.

Timeline

Sweeney said that petition would have to be in before the end of April, and some residents may file a lawsuit on the issue.

“The PBA feels that this is one of the most important issues that has ever come up in the village of Muttontown's history, something that is this important should be put out for a vote for the residents and not an issue to be decided by the mayor and her board,” Sweeney said.

In the meantime, plans are being made for the new department.

Mayor Beckerman said they have put together a list of candidates for the department and will bring people in before the contract expires for training. She has indicated that she is recommending former Nassau County Chief of Patrol William McHale to head the new department. Plus, in a letter to residents, she encourages people to come to the next Board of Trustees meeting on April 12 for an update on the situation.

Beckerman said if there are any unforeseen hurdles, Nassau County Police can be called in to provide a bridge until the new department is running. 

“We did our homework before we started this,” Beckerman said. “We understand the serious undertaking we are endeavoring on. We will not leave our residents in anything but a secure position….For our residents, we intend to go forward and give them the security and professionalism of the force that they’ve always had.”