Town to reassess security options

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February 7, 2012

By Jake Palmateer Staff Writer The Daily Star Tue Feb 07, 2012, 02:30 AM EST

The Oneonta Town Board will take another look at public safety, Town Supervisor Robert Wood said.

Last year, as the future of the town constabulary was debated, the town sought proposals for police protection services from the Oneonta Police Department and the Otsego County Sheriff's Department. But neither appeared viable, according to Wood.

The OPD offer would have provided the town with two officers at a cost of $130,000 a year, but that was deemed too costly by the town. That plan would also have taken about a year to be implemented.

The sheriff's offer was to supply a single deputy at $35 an hour for a minimum five-hour shift.

Sheriff Richard Devlin said Monday that although the county had initially considered providing the services to the town, financial strains have changed the schematic.

"We just don't have the resources to provide that coverage," Devlin said.

Wood said he expects a wide-open discussion on police protection when the town's Public Safety Committee meets at 4 p.m. Monday.

The town budgets $75,000 for its constable's office but only has one full-time constable.

Two part-time constables are also included in the budget, but the positions have not been filled since the firings of Anthony Natalini and Scott Harrington in 2010.

The two former constables filed a wrongful termination claim against the town alleging their firings are because of their union activities. Natalini and Harrington had organized under the Teamsters Union.

Wood said he does not expect a resolution in that claim until late in the year.

A hearing in the matter was held in September but adjourned because of Tropical Storm Lee. There were two full days of testimony last month, and both sides in the case are awaiting a transcript and then the submission of written arguments, according to Wood.

Wood said the outstanding claim has been a factor in the town not filling the two vacant positions for more than a year even though they are budgeted.

Options include hiring new part-time constables or doing away with the constabulary altogether and relying on coverage provided by the state police and deputies.

"We hear that there is some increase in crime," Wood said.

But Wood said that does not appear to be linked to having fewer constables and is rather a sign of the economic times.

"The board is going to have to make up their minds," Wood said.

Last year, the board was divided over police protection, and no clear direction emerged, other than looking at outsourcing to the sheriff's office.

Wood said the initial training requirement for a constable is 250 hours, compared to 880 hours for a police officer. Constables are also limited in their police powers.