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General News: Village May Face Union Charges Over Layoffs
November 19, 2010
The elimination of two remaining fulltime police officer positions in the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson is raising a couple of legal issues.
The attorney for the police union that represents the officers in Cornwall-on-Hudson is pledging to fight the layoff of two full-time officers this week. After the move was announced on Monday, Marilyn Berson told News from Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson that the village is required to negotiate a layoff with the union and that she will be filing a complaint with the public employee relations board. “They are going to have a fight on their hands with this action,” she said, suggesting she would mount a long and costly battle.
Village Mayor Confident They DId the Right Thing
Asked in a phone interview on Thursday about the possibility of having to defend the elimination of the full-time officers positions, Mayor Gross was dismissive, saying that attorney Berson has a long history of filing complaints against the village. “It was done under the advisement of our police chief and the advice of counsel,” Mayor Gross said. “My decision was driven purely by economics and public safety.”
Mayor Gross also discussed a part of state law that allows a town to provide police services to a village if it does not maintain a full-time police force. It also gives the town the right to assess village residents for that service.
Town Supervior Not Looking to Provide Village Police Services
“If (the law) has any validity, it will be assessed,” the mayor said, noting that talks with the town about consolidation of services two years ago did not produce any agreement. He also expressed additional concerns about the number of calls that the village police respond to in the town – 13 in the past month according to village police chief Paul Weber. “If anything, we should be assessing them because they are understaffed,” he said.
For his part, Cornwall town supervisor Kevin Quigley said he is not looking to provide police services to the village although he is aware of the state law. He said that if the village police force was disbanded completely, the town would have to step in.
Mayor Says He is Obligated to Rein in Costs
Returning to the issue of layoffs, Mayor Gross stressed that he is faced with making tough decisions to order to rein in costs. “It is not easy for me personally to let two employees go, but it is a practical reality,” he said. “I caution all the department heads to keep a close watch on their staff to make sure we are getting out money’s worth. I owe it to the residents.”
Comments:
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I am sad to see professionals lose their career investments especially when they serve the public in their respective positions concerning safety to our communities. Please keep this in your thoughts and prayers.
posted by Keith Lipsey on 11/19/10 at 7:53 AM
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Our crack legal team did not know about this law? Our legal staff did not know our legal binding obligations in the contract? Now we will pay you again to defend us in court. This is too sad to be a joke.
posted by Andrew Argenio on 11/19/10 at 10:52 AM
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It's sad to see that Cornwall-on-Hudson hasn't made any progress since I lived there years ago. I can't believe some of the issues that have been raised recently, the mistakes that have been made and the waste of funds because issues are not researched thoroughly before actions are taken. I have no right to comment since I no longer live there, but I'm appalled to see what's happening in the place where I was born and raised.
posted by Judith Jamros on 11/19/10 at 11:52 AM
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You know, I am all for balancing budgets and "making tough decisions to rein in costs" but there are certain things that are necessary to maintain. The mayor could save the village a lot of money by cutting garbage pick up to once a month, but what would the village look like after a month of that? They cut one of the crossing guard positions saving each village resident a whopping 85 cents a year on their tax bill. Great job!
Why don't they cut the crap and save of some money on legal costs incurred by their incompetence and petulance at board meetings (so far $44,000 and rising) raising the projected legal costs to $172,000 for the year. This amount will now increase dramatically with this brilliant plan to force the town police to cover the village. That is clearly their objective. BTW when the town does end up taking over, we the residents will end up footing the bill, which will be higher. Just ask the Village of Warwick residents about how happy they are after having disbanded their police department. Lets disband village government and become one with the town. Think of the savings that would create!
posted by Frank Vido on 11/20/10 at 1:35 AM
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