CLAY, N.Y. - On Monday, taxpayers in the Town of Clay voted overwhelmingly to merge their police department into the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office. So will the new change have a ripple effect on other towns?
"Maybe this is one way to begin," pondered Peggy Way of the Town of Cicero. "I'm not saying I have the solution, I don't. I just think that maybe we have to look at something else."
Government consolidation. It's the key, some leaders believe, to lower taxes and more efficient government. And now that the Town of Clay has shown it wants change, the county of Onondaga is ready to do it again with any other township.
"We stand ready to partner anywhere that it makes sense. And I believe those measures should be driven by the towns, because each situation is unique," said Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney.
And each situation is unique.
On Monday, taxpayers in the Town of Clay voted overwhelmingly to merge their police department into the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office. So will the new change have a ripple effect on other towns? Our Joleene Des Rosiers set out to find the answer in at least one Central New York town.
Just before the Town of Clay voted to merge, the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office took a hard look at policing costs in every town in the county. It showed how much Clay taxpayers shell out to maintain their independent police force. It also showed numbers for the town of Cicero with half the population of Clay actually paying out more to maintain their police force.
The report also showed an increase in cost for providing public services. According to the report, Clay saw a 31 percent increase between 2002 and 2006.
Cicero? A whopping 79 percent increase. So would the Town of Cicero consider a merger?
"My first concern in the safety of every resident in the town of Cicero. And I'm not willing to jeopardize that to save a few dollars," said Cicero Town Supervisor Chet Dudzinski.
"What happens, is, you don't have the amount of response time that you normally would have," said Mike Garn of the Town of Clay. "Sheriff's department is more than busy right now, so Clay, Cicero, North Syracuse, little townships like that, I think they respond a lot faster."
"You want to know that the people are concerned and are familiar with your immediate local area," added Melanie Sheahan of the Town of Cicero.
"I definitely like the settings of a small town and stuff like that, but I guess I want what is best for the community," said Joshua Gridley of the Town of Cicero.
"I think that our police department does a fabulous job," Dudzinski said. "And there would be no way that I would want to jeopardize the safety of any of our town residents unless I could see a significant savings. And I just don't want to see numbers, I want to see hard numbers."
Proponents of future mergers think Clay now offers a blue print for maintaining police protection and even protecting the jobs of displaced town police.