The Village of Liberty Police Department is one of the most respected law enforcement agencies servicing Sullivan County. They have done an outstanding job under the leadership of Police Chief Robert Mir. Their amount of arrests is astonishing and so is the professionalism and courtesy of the police force.
The notion that the Village of Liberty Police Department should be moved to include the entire township is ludicrous. The township is already served very well by the New York State Police and the Sheriff’s Department. Why should it change?
The perception that Town of Liberty taxpayers should pay for the village police because they utilize village merchants and schools is downright crazy. This type of philosophy would mean that people should be charged a surcharge fee when they enter any municipality.
Perhaps they would like the Village of Liberty to set up toll booths for all non village residents to pay a fee upon entering to help defray costs.
If the Village of Liberty police force were to encompass the entire township, the New York State Police and Sheriff’s Department would be replaced and town taxes would go up an estimated 38 percent while overall village taxes would decrease substantially.
It is no secret the Village of Liberty is in financial ruins, and taxpayers cannot afford to keep sustaining the municipality. The Village Board needs to get serious once and for all and put an end to all the self serving political games and nonsense.
The sad reality is that the tax base that was once the stable backbone of the village has dwindled and those receiving social services are forever increasing. Merchants are hurting, and empty storefronts are increasing in number.
The move to dissolve the Village Court was nothing more than a smokescreen to hide the real problems confronting the village and trustees who rammed it down the throats of voter’s just weeks before the election know it.
I trust this new move pertaining to the Village Police Department is not a ploy or part of a secretive master plan by the Mayor and his Board of Trustees to disband the Village Police Department and in turn have the Sheriff’s Department and New York State Police pick up services.
The Village of Liberty Police Department must stay intact and cannot be allowed to be used as a scapegoat in any form, shape, or manner.
Over the years there has been talk about creating a Countywide Police Department with a police chief and police districts as they have in other counties. This could cut costs and bring uniformity to law enforcement in Sullivan County. A new legislature might want to tackle this issue as political as it might be.
In the meantime, the Village of Liberty Board of Trustees needs to take some dramatic measures to cut costs. Taxpayers cannot wait for another election cycle for something to happen. The time to act is now.
Immediate consolidating of municipal services with the township should be the catalyst that leads to the dissolution the Village of Liberty with the Liberty Police district staying intact.