City council meeting 1/24 has presentation on Consolidation Study Report now 7:15pm. Wow lots of notice... this stinks that they did not announce this. Have to give them credit though to see intro of report done at a city council meeting and not just at a committees meeting where it is hard to get to at 5:30 and also a small room.
But have to say TV coverage after they resolved Microphone problem was well done Slides weren't really meant to view well but hopefully study report should be available to the public. Hopefully they will put it on the City Website
EDIT: Just heard they are planning on putting report up on city website.
Cel I watched the whole meeting, and saw the faces of the other town's reps, no one was smiling : ) Don't think they want to consolidate with the city and can't blame them.
This is going to be one hell of a tough sell if it can be sold at all.
I think the deciding factors will be communities getting into serious financial problems and legislation from the State forcing it on the county.
I was very surprised because OMS was able to play back the meeting immediately following the live feed. I think they air it 5 times during the week. I may catch one of those to hear the presentation again.
Was good to see the presentation was done so everyone... Public, Council and town reps heard it. In the past I think it would have been in the Committees meeting held at 5:30 and with very limited seating and basically shut the public out of it.
this is just another ploy from the city, that can't afford itself, use consolidation to cure their financial ills. If they can dump theircorrupt finances on the surrounding town taxpayers, it would lighten their load. BULLCRAP!
What town is going to want to 'join' a corrupt, financially bankrupt city?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Just another case of the city looking to the county and towns to bail them out..remember if/ when this happens and you live outside the city and call for the police....unless you're being robbed at gun point you will wait 3-4 hrs for the police to get there....because it already happens that way in the city...IMHO
Schenectady looking into shared services among police departments Posted: Jan 24, 2011 10:34 PM
SCHENECTADY, NY—Mayor Brian Stratton started the latest the City Council meeting by saying Schenectady County is the second smallest county geographically in New York State, but still has 7 different local and state police agencies. In a report just released, we learned how those agencies can do more, for less.
Dr. William Eimicke from Columbia University outlined several potential shared service areas in his study, including using the same K-9 units, centralizing the booking and records departments and combining dispatch and communication.
"We're going to be forced into this, said Commissioner Wayne Bennett from the Schenectady Police Department. "The sooner we get going on it, the better off we're going to be."
The report suggests Schenectady County could save between $280 and $560,000 dollars a year, if local departments begin collaborating.
"You're spending less on rent, you're spending less on technology, you're spending less on equipment," said Dr. Eimicke.
this can't be solely about saving $$$$$$. That is another line of bullcrap! Stratton, Savage and Gillen have told schenectadians for a decade that every single decision they made was to save $$$$$$. Well how did that work out for ya all?? Taxes the highest in the state and 19th in the country!!!
How can anyone think that anything that comes out of that bunch about saving money think it will actually happen. The city is a mess!!! The residents are practically bankrupt with the taxes, fees and fines. And they are proposing consolidation?????
All you townfolks better start attending these city council meetings unless of course you want your town to look like the city.
The city just wants YOUR money!!!!!
And I would also suggest support for Pat Z, cause she is just about the only voice of reason in the city. Nobody knows the city like she does!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
The city is going bankrupt and they need the towns to save them money by consolidating police protection so the city can do what they do best spend/waste more money.
The city is going bankrupt and they need the towns to save them money by consolidating police protection so the city can do what they do best spend/waste more money.
Yup what town would want to get mixed up with Stratton?
Sounds alot like when Proctors took over Open Stage Media and is now asking surrounding towns to pay for the government access channels. Can you imagine the bills Schenectady will hand out to Glenville & Rotterdam if the police departments consolidate?
He's an idea GET RID OF THE CORRUPT CITY POLICE FORCE...use the Sherriffs and the State Police in the City. If I'm paying triple taxes, I want the State Police protecting me. Seriously.
Listen....the city has gotten millions upon millions of dollars in grants and state and federal handouts over the years, and they STILL couldn't get it together. Then the city gouged the taxpayers with high taxes, fees and fines because the city gave businesses a tax exempt status and non profits free rain.
They screwed up the city and now they want the towns to pick up their sh!t!!
Hey I'm all for consolidation in some instances........NOT THIS ONE!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
A Columbia University consultant has now made official what anyone who’s followed the issue of police consolidation in Schenectady County has known from the start: Outside the city of Schenectady, support for combining forces just isn’t there. So William Eimicke essentially punted on the notion, suggesting instead that the municipalities pursue less-comprehensive agreements to share administrative functions they all need but currently provide and pay separately for. Things like dispatching (which they’re already preparing to do), record storage, training, booking prisoners, etc. Annual savings from sharing of these functions would range from $280,000 to $560,000 — for the city alone. That’s not too shabby, though perhaps not as much as Mayor Brian Stratton had been hoping for. But it’s obviously better than nothing, and with the city’s finances in such rough shape, there’s no (additional) time to waste. Financially, the towns may not quite be as desperate as the city, but they aren’t exactly rolling in money at the moment, either. And with Gov. Andrew Cuomo all but promising substantial cuts in local aid, the financial prospects for all municipalities are likely to get worse before they get better. Politics are of paramount importance with an issue like this, which is surely one big reason why support has been lacking among town and county leaders: The city has far more crime and a far more expensive — and troubled — police force. Recent improvements notwithstanding, a politician would have to have a death wish or be in dire financial straits to agree to merge with the city. ...............>>>>...............>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00902&AppName=1
You mean surrounding towns don't want to pay more to the City of Schenectady for less police protection?!? Wow?! Sounds like every single Schenectady taxpayer...we pay triple the amount of property and sales taxes for little to nothing in return.
'Consolidation' is just another way the City can keep paying big salaries to their friends and have other towns, along with the taxpayers, foot the bill. Well, not this time Mr. Mayor....not this time.
About a year ago, the state wrote another one of its famous "pay for a study'' grant checks payable to the city of Schenectady. This $48,000 handout was for researching methods of possible countywide police consolidation and/or any other cop financial savings. Before the study began, I mentioned it was a waste of time and money to try and merge local police agencies. During many years at the keyboard, I often wrote that having seven police agencies covering the second smallest land area county in the state was fiscal insanity. Over time, various town police chiefs and politicians told me to keep my nose out of something I did not understand. Of course, I understood perfectly. Forget saving taxpayer dollars, they did not want to give up autonomy in their own jurisdiction at any cost. Well, last week the study results came in and the researchers said they found no interest whatsoever in police consolidation. Period! They said the city could save some money through shared services with the other departments, but even that isn't a given. Countywide prisoner booking would mean a large savings for the city, but this idea has wallowed for many years. Two years ago, the county received a $1 million state grant to implement consolidated police dispatch. That project is still on the drawing board. I guess this is where the old grump injects, "I told you so.''
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