As we reported on Friday, Mount Kisco village officials have consented to a county study that will explore costs of a consolidation with the Westchester County police, as well as a scenario in which more shared services are offered.

In supporting the study, Mayor Michael Cindrich told Patch that it is being done to see if Mount Kisco can save money while getting the same level of police service.

In addition to costs, the study will look at how response times would change, as well as general quality of services, crime prevention and other routine types of law enforcement that local police currently handle. Under a consolidation scenario, there would be still police stationed in Mount Kisco, Cindrich explained.

Police mergers in communities across the country have often had two contentious themes, according to media reports. They have included concern about slower response times (click here for a report from our sister site in Scotch Plains, NJ) and loss of identity (click here for an upstate academic case study).

Some of the upsides that one could argue for a police merger have to do with scale and opportunity. Cindrich told Patch that police in a larger organization would have more room for career advancement, and that a larger force isn't harmed as much by absent personnel and overtime impacts.

What do you think? Vote in our poll and sound off in our comments section.

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