[Call to Order]
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RIGHT. WE'LL CALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER. MIKE PROBABLY ALREADY
[a. 2025-1281 – SHERIFF RE: APPROVAL OF A DEDICATED ROAD PATROL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN ONEIDA COUNTY, THROUGH ITS SHERIFF’S OFFICE, AND THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON ]
TOOK THE ROLL CALL, SO WE'RE GOOD. OUR ONLY DOCKET TONIGHT IS 2025, 1281. IT'S AN APPROVAL OF A DEDICATED ROAD PATROL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN ONEIDA COUNTY THROUGH A SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON. AND I WILL START THIS COMMITTEE BY SAYING THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON THIS, I'M SURE SOME WAYS AND MEANS, BUT LET'S NOT GET INTO THE WEEDS ON WHY THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON IS COMING TO US WITH THIS DOCKET. LET'S JUST I GUESS WE'LL STICK TO QUESTIONS FOR THE SHERIFF IF WE CAN HANDLE THIS INTERNALLY AND HOW HE CAME UP WITH THE PRICE. HOW ABOUT THAT? I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU A QUICK BACKGROUND. JUST SO YOU KNOW WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM. BUT ACTUALLY, I WAS APPROACHED THE FIRST TIME TWO YEARS AGO BY THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON. AND AT THAT TIME, WE WERE JUST COMING OUT OF COVID, AS YOU KNOW. PLUS WE HAD SEVERAL VACANCIES IN ROAD PATROL, AND WE HAD A MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE IN THE POLICE ACADEMY. SO I HAD LET THEM KNOW WE DO OUR BEST TO INCREASE OUR PRESENCE IN THE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE, AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO THE KIRKLAND POLICE BECAUSE WE HAVE A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM, BUT THEIR STAFFING LEVELS ARE EXTREMELY LOW, AND OBVIOUSLY, THE WORKLOAD IN ANY COMMUNITY WHEN IT COMES TO POLICING IS NOT GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. IT'S GOING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. SO REACH BACK OUT TO THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON, REACH BACK OUT TO US RECENTLY, SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, SAT DOWN WITH THE MAYOR AND AGAIN LOOKING AT WHAT SHE WANTED, BASICALLY LOOKING FOR DEDICATED PATROL, NOT 24 HOURS A DAY, BUT SOME OF THEIR PEAK TIMES, SOME OF THEIR MAIN CONCERNS REGARDING SPECIFIC TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT, SOME SPECIFIC EVENTS, THINGS OF THAT SORT, AND THEIR CURRENT CONTRACT WITH THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND WAS, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY. AND AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO THAT. BUT THEIR VILLAGE BOARD WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THE SERVICES THERE THAT THEY WERE GETTING IN RETURN FOR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THEY WERE PAYING THEM. SO THAT'S KIND OF LED US TO OUR PROPOSAL THAT WE MADE TO THEM. CURRENTLY, THEY'RE PAYING THE VILLAGE OF OR I'M SORRY, THE VILLAGE IS PAYING THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND. 175 IN GETTING AGAIN MUCH LESS THAN THEY EXPECT. AND, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY I WOULD DEFLECT ALL THOSE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON. BUT THIS PROPOSAL THAT WE PUT TOGETHER WENT BEFORE THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON VILLAGE BOARD TWO NIGHTS AGO, I BELIEVE IT WAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY ON THEIR END. SO AGAIN, IT'S COMING FROM THEM. OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, OUR WORKLOAD, BOTH IN THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND AND IN THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON, HAS RISEN SIGNIFICANTLY. BOTH COMPLAINTS WERE TAKING, INVESTIGATIONS WERE HANDLING TRAFFIC TICKETS THAT WERE WRITING. SO WE'RE DOING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THIS WORK ALREADY. SO THE WAY I LOOK AT THIS SITUATION IS I HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE POLICE SERVICES TO THE COUNTY. THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE ALREADY DOING, AND THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GENERATE SOME REVENUE IN RETURN FOR SOME OF THE WORK WHICH WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS. AND OBVIOUSLY, FROM THE NUMBERS, OUR NUMBER, OUR WORKLOAD IS INCREASING THERE BECAUSE THAT POLICE DEPARTMENT IS NOT THERE 24 HOURS A DAY. SO DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS DOCKET FROM THE COMMITTEE? YEAH.MR. DIMAGGIO, YOU KNOW, IT SAYS UP TO NINE 96 HOURS. REALISTIC. WELL, I MEAN, WHAT THEIR MAIN CONCERN ARE, THEIR MAIN CONCERNS, FOR THE MOST PART, ARE DAYTIME HOURS, TRUCK TRAFFIC ON ON RESTRICTED ROADS WHERE TRUCKS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE, DISMISSAL AND ARRIVAL TIME AT THE SCHOOLS BECAUSE THEY'RE ONE OF THE CAMPUSES, LIKE A COUPLE OTHER IN THE COUNTY THAT LETS THEIR KIDS OUT FOR LUNCH. THE KIDS ARE FREE TO WALK. THEY THEY ARE LITERALLY ALL THEY SWARM THE VILLAGE AT LUNCHTIME, WHICH IS A GOOD THING FOR THE BUSINESSES. BUT THERE'S KIDS ALL OVER THE PLACE. IT'S JUST NOT THE PERFECT SCENARIO FOR SAFETY. THEY'RE THEY ALSO HAVE A CONCERN FOR POLICE PRESENCE AT SOME SPECIFIC EVENTS THAT ARE VERY WELL ATTENDED IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE ALL ATTEND FROM TIME TO TIME. SO AGAIN, I'M NOT HELD TO A SPECIFIC AMOUNT THAT I'M GOING TO NEED OR THAT I HAVE TO BE THERE. AND THE CLAUSE OBVIOUSLY IS IN THE CONTRACT THAT IF THERE'S ANYTHING MAJOR GOING ON ANYWHERE WHERE WE NEED TO UTILIZE THAT CAR, IT'S, IT'S MY DECISION TO, YOU KNOW, OUR SUPERVISOR'S DECISION TO TAKE THAT CAR AND USE IT. IF, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A MAJOR CASE SOMEWHERE ELSE WHERE YOU NEED ADDITIONAL MANPOWER. SO. IF YOU DID PUT THE 96 HOURS. YEAH.
YEAH. YEP. AND THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THEY'RE ASKING FOR, THAT'S LIKE $34 AN HOUR. AND THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY. RIGHT. WE'RE AGAIN, WE'RE SPENDING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME THERE. NOW I'M NOT GETTING ANYTHING FOR IT. SO AGAIN, IF I GAVE THEM THE TRUE NUMBER FOR THE 96 HOURS OF DEDICATED SERVICE BECAUSE I'M NOT LOOKING FOR ANY ADDITIONAL STAFF, I'M NOT LOOKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL CAR OR ANYTHING OF THAT SORT. IF
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WE CHARGE THEM DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR, THEN WE'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET THIS CONTRACT, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND I'M STILL GOING TO HAVE TO DO THE WORK ANYWAYS, BECAUSE WHEN THEY'RE NOT IN SERVICE AND A CALL COMES IN, I GET I HAVE TO GO. THAT'S THAT'S MY JOB. WHEN I SAY I MY PEOPLE. SO. YES SIR. NO, WE DON'T SEE ANY MONEY FROM A TRAFFIC TICKET THAT ANY, ANY LOCAL MONIES THAT ARE GENERATED FROM VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT GO TO THE COURT OF JURISDICTION. SO WHETHER IT'S A TOWN OR IN THEIR CASE, THEY DON'T HAVE A VILLAGE COURT. SO IT'S THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND COURT THAT GETS THAT REVENUE. NOW THE COUNTY IS WE DON'T GET TRAFFIC REVENUE FROM ANYTHING, ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTY. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU, MR. NEWTON. THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND DOES NOT HAVE A POLICE. THEY DO, THEY DO, THEY DO. THEY AT ONE TIME WERE A NOT LARGE BUT A 24 HOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. WHAT IS THEIR STATUS NOW AS FAR AS COVERAGE? ARE THEY PART TIME? WELL THEY HAVE FULL TIME EMPLOYEES, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE NEAR AS MANY AS THEY HAD BEFORE. AND AGAIN, IT'S A PUBLIC MEETING I REALLY DON'T WANT TO GET INTO WHEN THEY HAVE POLICE ON AND WHEN THEY DON'T, BUT THEY'RE NOT 24 HOURS A DAY. SO WHAT IS WHAT IS THE SHERIFF OBLIGATION? HOW THE 911 CENTER? WHAT DETERMINES WHETHER IT GOES TO THE VILLAGE TOWN? IF IT'S A CALL WITHIN A VILLAGE AND THERE'S A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY THAT HAS JURISDICTION IN THAT VILLAGE, IT WILL GO TO THAT VILLAGE ONLY ANYWHERE ELSE. IT'S THE CLOSEST CAR CONCEPT. SO. SO IT WILL GO TO THE VILLAGE POLICE FIRST. THERE IS NO VILLAGE POLICE. BUT IF THERE WERE. YES, BUT IN THIS CASE, IT WOULD GO A VILLAGE IN VILLAGE COURT, IN VILLAGE CALL. IN THIS CASE WOULD GO TO THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND. IF THEY ARE IN SERVICE. IF THEY'RE NOT IN SERVICE, THEY'LL PULL THE SHERIFF'S CAR IN THE STATE POLICE CAR TO SEE WHO'S CLOSER TO TAKE THE CALL. YEP. JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, LIKE IN 20, YOU KNOW, WE GO BACK A COUPLE YEARS. I MEAN, WE TOOK WE TOOK 345 CALLS THERE IN 2023, 350 IN 2024. SO FAR THIS YEAR WE'VE TAKEN 83. I MEAN, WE'RE DOING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK THERE BECAUSE THEY'RE WITHIN ONEIDA COUNTY AND THEY DON'T HAVE LAW ENFORCEMENT IN SERVICE. SO THAT'S MY OBLIGATION. THAT'S THAT'S I DON'T WE RESPOND AND WE HANDLE THE CALL. DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT THAT I GO ON THE CALLS, THESE NUMBERS, I MEAN, THE SERVICE THAT YOU COULD PROVIDE TO 96 HOURS, $170,000 CAN COME CLOSE. I DON'T DISAGREE WITH YOU, BUT MY POINT IS, IF I DON'T TAKE THE CONTRACT, I STILL HAVE TO GO. SO AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY PAYING THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND ONE. 75 OR 1. 70. THEY'RE CURRENTLY PAYING KIRKLAND THE SAME EXACT AMOUNT. SO WE SHOULD NEGOTIATE THAT. ON TOP OF THAT, WE WRITE THE TICKET. IT COMES TO US. THE LAW DOESN'T ALLOW THAT, THOUGH. THAT'S THAT'S WITH THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND COURT. IF THEY WANT TO CUT THE COUNTY A CHECK, THAT'S. BUT THEY'RE NOT PART OF THIS. SO THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON DOESN'T HAVE A VILLAGE COURT. SO YEAH, IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T SOUND. YOU SOLD ME A ANYWAY. THAT IS CORRECT. I'M GOING ANYWAYS. SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IN $170,000. IF NOT, I'M GOING TO GO ANYWAYS AND WE GET NOTHING FOR IT BECAUSE THAT'S MY OBLIGATION TO KEEP THE COMMUNITY SAFE WHEN THEY CALL FOR POLICE. AND JUST TO CONFIRM, YOU CAN, ONEIDA COUNTY OR THE VILLAGE OF CLINTON CAN GET OUT OF THE CONTRACT AT ANY TIME, ANY TIME. IT'S ONLY A ONE YEAR CONTRACT.THIS IS A ONE YEAR CONTRACT AGAIN NEXT YEAR FOR THE SECOND YEAR. BUT THAT IS CORRECT. BUT BUT THE CONTRACT IS FOR THE MONEY PART. I MEAN PROVIDING THE LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICE. I DON'T NEED A CONTRACT FOR THAT BECAUSE I AM THE SHERIFF OF THE COUNTY. IT'S MY OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE POLICE SERVICES TO ONEIDA COUNTY. SO THE REASON FOR THE CONTRACT IS TO GET THE REVENUE TO COME HERE, BECAUSE I'M DOING IT RIGHT NOW. I'VE BEEN DOING IT. ARE YOU GOING TO BE SPENDING MORE MORE TIME? YEAH, A LITTLE BIT MORE. YEP, YEP. MR. JULIAN, YOU'RE GOING ANYWAY. WHY ARE THEY PAYING YOU A HIGHER $70,000? BECAUSE THEY WANT US TO STAY THERE AS MUCH AS WE CAN. UP TO THAT 96. IF I DON'T NEED THAT CAR FOR SOMETHING ELSE SOMEWHERE ELSE, I'M SURE. THERE'S FREAKS.
I MEAN, YOU ALWAYS HEAR A SUBSTATION HERE. WE HAVE. YOU HEARD ABOUT. YEAH. WE HAVE THREE SUBSTATIONS NOW OUT IN THE COUNTY, SO. WE ACTUALLY RELOCATED. MATT BEASLEY WAS CORDIAL ENOUGH. AND TO LET US USE COUNTY DPW ON 28. SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE TEMPORARILY. YEAH.
COMPRESSION NUMBERS NOT IN THE LOWEST LOWEST PAID OFF 53,001 64 YEARS. EXTRAPOLATE THAT OUT OVER 96 OUT OF 127 993 PLUS THE BENEFITS ON TOP OF THAT, PLUS THE COST WE'VE ALREADY DONE.
THEY DO A CHARACTER. NO. I WOULDN'T. AGAIN SEE THIS. THIS IS ALL ABOUT LIKE I SAID, THIS
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IS WORK WE'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING. I SAW THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT I'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING, WHICH I WILL CONTINUE TO DO, WHETHER THERE'S A CONTRACT OR NOT. THAT'S A CHANCE FOR ONEIDA COUNTY TO BRING IN $170,000 THAT YOU'RE NOT GETTING RIGHT NOW.WHAT IF ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY SAYS, WE WANT TO? I WOULD HAVE TO AGAIN, CASE BY CASE, SEE WHAT THAT IS. AND CITY OF ROME. WELL, THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER BALL GAME. CITY OF ROME IS RIGHT. IT MAY IT MAY, IT MAY. BUT I'M SURE THAT WOULDN'T MAKE THE PEOPLE HAPPY, THOUGH, IF I GAVE THEM ONE CAR IN THE ENTIRE CITY OF ROME. SO. RIGHT. JUST TO CONFIRM THEY CAME TO YOU, THEY ABSOLUTELY, 100% CAME TO ME THE FIRST TIME. I DIDN'T HAVE THE STAFFING TO DO IT, BECAUSE JUST COMING OUT OF COVID, I THINK UNDERSHERIFF WOULD WE SAY WE HAD LIKE 16 OR 17 VACANCIES AT THE TIME, MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN THE ACADEMY, BUT I WASN'T ABLE TO DO IT. SO WE DELAYED IT FOR TWO YEARS, BUT WE CONTINUED TO TAKE THE CALL VOLUME. SO WHEN THEY WERE NOT IN SERVICE. WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT, TYPICALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT DAYTIME HOURS SIX DAYS A WEEK, POTENTIALLY SIX DAYS A WEEK. BUT AGAIN, I'M NOT HELD TO ANYTHING SPECIFIC. THAT'S WHY IT'S WRITTEN THAT WAY. SO IF MY SCHEDULING ELSEWHERE REQUIRES US TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE, THEN WE DON'T. WE'RE NOT THERE AND WE'RE SOMEWHERE ELSE AND. TRAFFIC FOR A SCHOOL IN THAT. CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, IT'S EITHER THE SPO OR SRO IS ALSO OUT. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE HAVE TWO SPOTS AT CLINTON. THAT IS CORRECT. AT CLINTON SCHOOL THEY THEY PAY FOR TWO SPOTS EVERY DAY AT CLINTON.
BUT AGAIN, THEY'RE NOT IN A CAR. THEY CAN'T MOVE AROUND THE VILLAGE. THEY CAN'T WATCH THE PIZZA, THE PIZZA SHOPS AND. NO. YEAH, BUT THEY'RE VERY VISIBLE. OH, ABSOLUTELY. THEY'RE OUTSIDE.
THEY'RE IN THERE. THEY'RE LOVED THERE TOO. I GET A LOT OF LOT OF GOOD GUY NOTES ON THE ONES AT THAT SCHOOL. SO WE'RE SUBSIDIZING THIS. ALL RIGHT. WE ARE. I DON'T LIKE THAT. I DON'T LIKE THAT EITHER. WE'RE SUBSIDIZING IT ALREADY I DON'T LIKE. WHEN YOU SUGGEST. WOULD YOU RATHER HIM SIGN A CONTRACT AND DO IT FOR FREE? NO, I'D LIKE TO KNOW. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT. I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT. I'D LIKE TO SEE THE VILLAGES LOSE THEIR SALES TAX. ALL RIGHT, SO, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE SHERIFF? MR. YES, SIR. JUST A BREAKDOWN OF THOSE CALLS. THE MAJORITY OF THE CALLS THAT YOU ON THE AVERAGE. WELL, THE TRAFFIC STOPS ARE SEPARATE FROM THAT. THOSE NUMBERS DO NOT INCLUDE TRAFFIC STOPS. TRAFFIC STOPS, I'M TOLD A TOTALLY DIFFERENT CATEGORY, BUT I DON'T HAVE I DON'T HAVE THE BREAKDOWN. I HAD IT BACK AT THE OFFICE. I HAVE A SPREADSHEET FROM FROM THIS WAS ALL 911. DATA. THIS IS NOT TRAFFIC INCLUDED. THAT IS CORRECT. IT'S NOT NOT TRAFFIC INCLUDED. MY TRAFFIC NUMBERS. YEAH, I. I'M YOU'RE MISINTERPRETING IT. I'M TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF ALL THIS. SO JUST TO GIVE YOU. WHAT I'LL TAKE THE MONEY. ALL RIGHT I DON'T LIKE. SEE, I GOT HIM TO COME AROUND. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. MARY, MARY, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE SHERIFF? BUT IS THERE ANY TRUTH TO YOU GETTING NEW RECRUITS IN THE CO? STRIKE THAT'S GOING ON? SO TO, TO DATE, TO DATE, WE'VE HAD 51 PEOPLE INQUIRE. WE'VE HAD 39. LEWIS AND I HAVE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER THE PAST FEW DAYS.
49 APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED. WE HAVE ALMOST ALL OF THOSE CURRENTLY IN BACKGROUND NOW. SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IT'S OVERWHELMING. WE'RE WE'RE CAUTIOUSLY VERY OPTIMISTIC.
WE'VE STILL GOT A COUPLE OTHER STEPS TO GO THROUGH. WE'RE DOING BACKGROUNDS ON THEM. THEY STILL HAVE TO DO A MEDICAL. SO THERE'S A COUPLE STEPS. BUT WE HAVEN'T OFFICIALLY HIRED SOMEONE. BUT IT'S HOPEFULLY THAT'S IMMINENT WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO. YEAH. YEP YEP. AND THE PAY IS COMPARABLE. COMPARABLE. THE WORK ATMOSPHERE IS MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH.
SO I THINK WE ARE GOING TO BENEFIT SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THIS. SO IT'LL OFFER INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF RELIEF FOR THE PEOPLE WITH LUIS, YOU KNOW. ABSOLUTELY. AND YOU KNOW, AND JUST JUST ON A SIDE NOTE, WE HAVE LOST TWO ROAD PATROL DEPUTIES WHO HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED BY THE NATIONAL GUARD THAT ARE CURRENTLY DEPLOYED IN A COUPLE OF STATE PRISONS SOMEWHERE. SO WE'RE FEELING, YOU KNOW, SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS, A LOT OF MOVING PARTS GOING ON WITH THAT, THAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE DOCKET FOR THE SHERIFF WITH BEING NONE? WE'LL TAKE THE VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? DOCKET PASSES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ADJOURN.
MOTION TO ADJOURN. SECOND. I TALKED TO
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.