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View full sizeCicero Police Officer Mike Serafin talks to the driver of a vehicle that was speeding in a school zone on South Bay Road in front of Gillette Road Middle School. Serafin gave him a warning. Cicero, NY - A majority of the Cicero Town Board agrees with a committee’s recommendation to let the residents decide whether to dissolve the Cicero Police Department.
But board members also say they need to review further costs related to disbanding the force and contracting with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office or another police agency before any decision is made.
“The bottom line is let the people decide,” Councilor Lynn Jennings said. “That’s the way I would look at it as a resident. We also have to let the people digest what they’ve seen so far. It’s not a cut-and-dry issue. It’s something we really have to look at in depth.”
Supervisor Judy Boyke said the town board plans to review the Cicero Police Study Committee’s recommendations, then discuss it at a board meeting next month. She wants residents to call town hall if they have questions or concerns.
Deputy Supervisor Jessica Zambrano and Councilor Vern Conway both said they are concerned about future health insurance costs. The committee found the town pays up to 88 percent of active and retired police officers’ health insurance contributions, potentially costing the town up to $600,000 per officer over their lifetimes.
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“It seems very generous and I’m not sure we can afford that kind of health care coverage — covering people until they die,” Zambrano said. “I have to look at those numbers. What is the impact for Cicero? Can we afford this? I don’t think we can leave everything the way it is. We have to have better planning for the future.”
Zambrano said although the majority of people spoke in support of the Cicero Police Department, “This isn’t an easy decision. I don’t want to forget all those people who brought up (while on the campaign trail last fall) the issue that we need a change,” she said. “Let the residents decide, but I want to study this some more.”
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Councilor Jim Corl Jr., who attended the committee meetings as the town board liaison for the Cicero Police Department, said he was not surprised at the committee’s final decision “given the controversial nature of this issue.”
“They believe everybody who lives in the town should have a voice,” Corl said, stopping short of saying whether he would vote in favor a public referendum. “Before any final decisions are made, we have to good hard look at current costs, future costs and costs that would be associated with contracting with the county.”
Cicero Police Chief Joseph Snell submitted an 11-page letter to councilors, which Corl described as a rebuttal to the committee’s recommendation. In his opinion, Snell wrote it would cost the town more to contract with the sheriff’s office. The town has not released a copy of the chief’s letter because it contains information of pending contract negotiations.
Conway said he thinks Cicero taxpayers would end up paying more as Cicero police officers retire and new recruits are hired.
“This is where it gets out of hand because you can have three or four generations of Cicero police officers — and if they each retire after 20 years and life expectancy is 80 years old, it’s just going to compound the bigger the police department gets,” he said.
Conway said he also didn’t realize town taxes help pay for the county sheriff’s office and state police to help provide policing services in the town. “My contention is if we went with the sheriff’s, we shouldn’t have to pay them another $1.4 million,” he said.
“I think that’s the only fair way to do it is with a referendum,” Conway said. “Let the people vote on it.”
Catie O’Toole can be reached at cotoole@syracuse.com or 470-2134.