Cicero, NY - Cicero is not the only municipality in Onondaga County considered a police merger, according to Sheriff Kevin Walsh. North Syracuse’s former mayor John Heindorf met with the sheriff last year to discuss a possible merger. Heindorf resigned in January and the current mayor, Diane Browning, said today that the village is no longer looking into a...
Cicero Police Officer Mike Serafin calls in a traffic stop to the 911 Center Tuesday after stopping a vehicle for speeding in a school zone on South Bay Road in front of Gillette Road Middle School.
Cicero, NY - Cicero is not the only municipality in Onondaga County considered a police merger, according to Sheriff Kevin Walsh.
North Syracuse’s former mayor John Heindorf met with the sheriff last year to discuss a possible merger. Heindorf resigned in January and the current mayor, Diane Browning, said today that the village is no longer looking into a possibility of a police merger.
East Syracuse Mayor Dan Liedka also met with sheriff’s officials last summer, Walsh said. There was just one meeting, which the sheriff described as preliminary. He also said nothing has come of that meeting.
Cicero Town Supervisor Judy Boyke, who took office Jan. 1, has met with Walsh twice in the last two months, the sheriff said. Cicero Police Chief Joseph Snell also was at the meetings, he said.
Snell, who retired as a lieutenant from the sheriff’s office, has said the Cicero Police Department provides a “very personal level of service that the sheriff won't provide.” Walsh said he understands that Snell is “obviously proud of what he’s built there – as well he should be.”
Walsh said the decision to merge police forces is a decision that needs to be made by residents who pay for the services. “It’s up to the residents to what services they want and how much they’re willing to pay for those services,” the sheriff said. “It’s really a decision that has to be made by the residents in a town.”
Cicero Deputy Supervisor Jessica Zambrano said she suggested the town look into police consolidation not because she favors it, but because many people suggested it while she was campaigning door-to-door last year.
“People said get rid of the police department,” Zambrano said today. “I felt an obligation to the people that we spoke with that this issue was studied. It needs to be looked at.”
Boyke asked for volunteers to form a study committee to look into a possible police merger. The Cicero Police Study Committee, made up of 11 community members, has begun collecting data and is now holding public listening sessions to find out how the residents feel about the issue. The committee is expected to make a recommendation to the Town Board on Aug. 25.
After the committee has presented its findings and recommendations, Boyke said, the town board will decide if it would save a substantial amount of money without jeopardizing the safety and services to the town. Boyke said she does not know yet the true cost of a police merger and whether it would save money.
A public vote on the committee's recommendations is expected to take place in November, Boyke said.
The town of Clay merged its police department with the sheriff's office in 2008 to save money. Since disbanding its force, the town of Clay has saved $1.2 million, Supervisor Damian Ulatowski said. The town projects to save a total of $12 million over 10 years, he said.
"It was an excellent decision for the town," Ulatowski said. "It was the catalyst that enabled communities across New York state to see that consolidation does work."