After a Paul Brooks article published in the February 15 Times Herald Record, the village has been abuzz with talks that the department may be on the chopping block, as Mayor Jeff Kaplan had announced his intentions to cut the village's spending by 5% in order to help dig the municipality out of its fiscal hole.

Kaplan is quoted in Brooks' article as saying that nothing is "off the table" in terms of cutting costs, but Mattracion reported in a phone interview on Monday that he had spoken with the mayor that morning.

"I was told by the mayor this morning that [dissolving the department] is not even being considered at this point," said the chief.

Chief Mattracion pointed to his department's economic record to illustrate why cutting the village's police is unlikely.

"Our budget, since I've been in place, has significantly decreased during my tenure," he said. "We're very economically conscious and certainly concerned to not only provide quality service but also to do it at a reasonable rate." Chief Mattracion also pointed to the department's reduced staff, which went from 17 full-time employees in 1987, to today's 10 full-timers in 2008.

Village Manager Elliott Auerbach, who is quoted in Brooks' article as asking if the police department is "a luxury we can afford to keep," responded to the article in a phone interview on Tuesday, saying that the quote was out of context, and that the article "really took some liberties with the thrust of the information that [Brooks] and I exchanged. The police department conversation was part of an over-arching conversation on what areas need to be looked at budgetarily [sic]."

He said that his question regarding the police department being a luxury was rhetorical, and that the main idea in his question was, "how do we go about affording [the police department]." Auerbach went onto say that, while the department is the most costly portion of the budget, it is not the only portion that village officials are looking to tighten up, not do without.

Mayor Jeff Kaplan echoed both Auerbach and Mattracion's claims that the Brooks article was a bit hasty with its declaration that the village was considering shutting down the police department.

"It's off the table," said Mayor Kaplan. "It's not under consideration."

Like Auerbach, Mayor Kaplan wants to try and take advantage of the other police services that village residents pay taxes to support, such as the Ulster County Sheriff's department, and the New York State Troopers, during times that the Ellenville Police Department might not be necessary, such as parades or festivals.

"We should be able to get the cooperation of the state police and the sheriff's department within the boundaries of the village, not just outside," he said. The mayor said that the village certainly still needs to have the Ellenville Police Department's protection and services, but that reducing the village's dependence on the department would help cut costs to paying for overtime and other expenses while utilizing other police protection services residents already pay for.

COMMENTS about this article (137)