ONONDAGA COUNTY, N.Y. -- Clay Town officials trumpeted a boost from business leaders in their campaign to eliminate their local police department.
“Property taxpayers in Upstate New York communities are in crisis. We are paying the highest taxes in the entire nation. And that hurts,” said Darlene Kerr, of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber endorses a merger with the county sheriff's department.
“There will be a tax reduction in 2009,” said James Rowley, Clay Town Supervisor.
Town officials claim this consolidation will begin to reduce government and taxes.
“We are choking on government and this mess of a structure is inflicting real pain on people. And the pain is more acute than ever in this terrible economy,” Rowley said.
The end is nearing for a showdown between town leaders and their police union in a large Syracuse suburb. Both sides say it's a high stakes issue. Our Bill Carey has more on the latest exchanges in the battle over the future of the Town of Clay Police Department.
The Clay police union continues to claim that the town's numbers just don't add up. That in the long run, there will end up being less police protection for this town of 60,000.
The county executive, who wants to see more movement toward fewer layers of government, says the town will be protected at an even higher level.
“We have an obligation to maintain those patrols at that level, which is something the Clay Police can't always do with the police force that they currently have,” said Joanie Mahoney.
“She is not in charge of the Sheriff's Department and doesn't know their personnel constraints or ours. Any information she has relative to us has been garnered through the Town Supervisor's office who, again, doesn't deal with the day to day aspects of the police department,” said Fred Corey of the Clay PBA.
With the Clay vote approaching, two clear positions emerge. Some government leaders who say the most important thing is to start the movement toward reduced government and lower taxes.
“This is the opportunity we've all been waiting for,” said Mahoney.
And opponents, led by the Clay police union, who say public safety must be the key concern.
“Our position is to provide accurate information to the people of Clay so that they can make a decision, at the polls on Monday that will best serve them,” said Corey.