Keep Our Police In Mount Kisco

     On Monday evening, October 7th, the Mount Kisco Village Board held its bi-monthly meeting.  On comment, I raised the issue of the current negotiations between the Village and the County to change the make-up of our town by drastically changing and eliminating the Mount Kisco Police Department.  I suggested that the Board cease its negotiations, reopen the Compulsory Interest Arbitration award [which gave nothing to our police officers] and begin to strengthen, support and treat our police department with the great history it has had since 1877. 

     In 2011 the United Stated Department of Justice commissioned a study entitled “Police Consolidation, Reorganization and Shared Services” to be prepared by the University of Michigan; named appropriately: COPS [Community Oriented Policing Services].  Notably in that report, which surveyed seventy five police departments around the country, were the following statements: “We place an incredible value on local control and that our local public safety departments become a part of our local identity” and “A lot of things [police] officers do have nothing to do with law enforcement.  They contribute to the vitality of communities.”  That’s right, our police officers are part of our community, not a political pawn in a chess game to be moved to a point of “mate.”  This scheme if implemented, will, like the many departments which have already merged county resources with other towns around Westchester, and the country, will result in citizens having to file police reports at the police station, come home to burglarized homes or apartments and go to the police station to file a report, and other services which we have come to rely upon as part of police responsibilities - will disappear. 

     This is a quote from the Arbitration Agreement which our police had to swallow from an Arbitrator who ignored departments which are contiguous to Mount Kisco, and relied upon departments over twenty miles away with entirely different statistical values.  John Grant, representing the MKPD PBA said, “I hereby dissent from each and every part of the Interest Arbitration Award.  The Award…is largely an outrageous rant against public employees generally and police officers in particular.”

     On Election Day, it will be time to change the make-up of this Village Board.  There are three Board members up for reelection - the Mayor and two Trustees.  There will be three write-in candidates who will make sure that our police department “stays where it is.”  That is, if you decide to register to vote and elect those write-ins on Election Day.  If this does not happen you can say good-bye to our police department who has served this community for over one hundred and thirty years; let’s rather say goodbye to these members of the Village Board of Trustees.