Protter is right its time to move on. We are wasting time and money and most of all morale. If there are cost issues let the chief and the board sit down and find where we can save and with enforcement issues the same. Combining will not bring value to the village it will surely take it away!!

I unfortunately was unable to make this meeting, so I may be taking this out of context, but according to the article "Gross said that he had done what amounted to an informal survey when he was running for mayor in early 2007 and knocked on virtually every door in the village. ?I was surprised at the number of people who were interested in saving money through police consolidation,? he told the meeting." ...
If someone came knocking at your door asking you if you were interested in doing something that would save you money wouldnt you say yes? Does that really say people support police consolidation or that they support saving money?

If this is truly a sincere effort to streamline our municipal government, then why single out the COH Police Department? Shouldn?t we look at all the redundancies? After all, the Village is within the boundaries of the town, is it not?
We ought to seek funding to take a comprehensive look at all the costs and benefits of full or partial consolidation. The community can then have this discussion based on facts, not conjecture. Given the national trend towards consolidation, I would venture to guess that there is grant funding available to pay for this type of a project.
Here?s a thought- should we abolish the COH Village government, village residents will still have a COH address, much like Mountainville residents who are part of the Town. As long as the US Postal Service doesn't decide to downsize, that is. Conversely, should the USPS decide to do away with the COH branch, we might all have a Cornwall address anyway. If that should happen, the distinction between Village and Town will be worth a whole lot less, except when it comes to higher taxes within the COH borders.
John B. Wenz, COH

One more thought- we ought to start out by commencing a re-valuation of all properties within our assessment unit. The costs of operating both Village and Town would then be apportioned fairly among all property owners. This would provide additional specific information upon which each taxpayer can then draw their own conclusion about abolishment and/or consolidation.

Consolidation of the town and village sounds like a great idea (yikes), we would lose a village lose our property values we would lose our voices but we would gain the towns vision of growth yikes again! I for one do not enjoy the visions of the town its haphazardly commercial and out of sorts. I just do not understand why growth is so important to so many people why the perception larger is better it all comes full circle we may gain a small amount of tax relief but we lose quality of life that in itself is irreplaceable. Why don't we concentrate in making the village an inclusive community and an enjoyable community where we can slow ourselves down and enjoy what we have. With businesses we should be working on sustainable community establishments like markets ,bakery ,hardware something like that could be accomplished in an all in one building or combining storefronts. we need to bring back the small community with energy and quality of life an ever increasing force. If we continue to make this area unique we will all benefit but if we just go with the flow we will end up like every other community.
Stop wasting valuable time in this consolidation nonsense! Keep our village police!

According to a recent article in the Time Herald Record, there are quite a few reasons to consolidate the Village and Town police forces. Here are a few interesting statistics:

Town Village
--------- -----------

Population: 12,826 3,058

Annual Budget: $1,447,275 $900,000 (1)(2)

Cost per-capita: $112.60 $261.60 (1)

Miles of roads to patrol: ~55-60 ~20 (1)

Cost per mile of road: ~$24,000 $45,000 (3)

If the Town police department could cover the village without incurring higher per-capita or per-mile costs, which is fairly likely, the following figures might apply for the village:

Village

Annual Budget: $344,331 (3)(calculated from per-capita costs)

Annual Budget: $480,000 (3)(calculated from per-mile costs)

Looking at this another way, Village taxpayers stand to save approximately $150 per-capita with a combined police force.

Here's another point of view:

Town Village
-------- ----------
Population per
Full-Time
Police Officer: 1166 509 (3)

Population per
Part-Time
Police Officer: 1282 436 (3)

Based on these figures the Town should only need to add three (2.6) full-time police officers and two (2.4) part-time police officers to provide the same level of service to the Village that they currently provide to the town.

Two other things to consider, and I don't know if they were added in to the above figures, are pensions and health insurance!

(1) Source: "Do the Numbers Support Cornwall Police Merger" - By Michael Randall - Times Herald-Record - July 12, 2008
(2) Worst case. The figure in the article was $800,000 to $900,000.
(3) My calculation

As I once mentioned to a former editor - every reporter has a slant. It is too bad that the current article did not include the very positive observation that Susan Lennon made when she commended both boards for coming together to open a discussion on this topic. The fact that we now have (mostly) civil discourse on a very important issue is not to be overlooked. Nobody was promised a particular result. And another observer commented that we are in a process of growth and self-examination as a community. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. And, there will be more growth and change.The curmudgeons and complainers never stop long enough to consider that improvements can be made intelligently and with consideration of all the factors.All they see is a negative. And as far as Howard's demanding an opinion - that is a lawyer's tactic to provoke a knee-jerk response. Although, now that we have Frank's astute and well thought out statistics at hand, maybe we ought to make a decision! :-) thanks Frank! Nice work!

And another thing, (sorry, I do tend to go on, you can stop reading anytime you like) as far as work environment affecting their morale?? Suck it up! Does the village police department think that they are the only ones with employment issues? They have a marketable skill, professional training, and good references (most of them). If they are so unhappy they can start sending out resumes right about now.
Kate Benson (previous post, also)

J Wenz if you would like I located a Congressional research report on changing postal boundaries @ http://ftp.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33488.pdf

Why is everyone so afraid of change? We're just talking about doing a study here from what I've read. No decisions are being made yet. I would rather studies be made so that there can be a well-informed decision made. According to the Cornwall Local, Kevin Quigley does not want to involve the state. Why not? Let the state conduct their study, the town and village can each do their own and in 6 months everyone get together and make a decision based upon THREE studies.

While I can only speak for myself as a village resident. I must comment that I personally am resisting this change is the very change i have seen between thease two communities in the 31 years i've been growing up here. it used to be that you could leave you doors unlocked at night and walk the street late with your parents on a summer night in either the village or the town. nowadays you cant do that in the town or it's outskirts. for instance just research for yourself on this website and past Cornwall Locals the Town verses the Village police blotters. I have read in the Town blotter's over the years instances of home invasions, shotguns pointed at faces, stolen heavy machinery and heavy construction materials(seperate incidents @ different years), major drug busts, FELONY!!! driving infractions. and kids being gang beaten. Now what do you read in the Village blotter...A lost kitten, a speeding ticket for 32mph in a 30mph zone, youth's removed from the school grounds or cumberland farms, and yes car breakin's in the Homland and Mountain nieghborhoods. now the car breakin's are serious and i'm sure Charlie and his men are looking into it, but that is the most serious thing i have heard of in along time that has happened in our beloved village.
Now I ask everyone to understand there are two ways to view this.

view 1) the most recent and common view. that we have a low crime community and our force is an unjustified expence and that the town can handle those lost kitten calls in between assisting the state (on the thruway)and new windsor (rt's 94 & 32 & 9w)with motor vehichle accidents, as well as all the oddball Felony's i mentioned in my first paragraph. That extra $150 per capita could be my movie rental budget for the year (yikes!)

or

view 2) the one i havent heard yet. that the village has "only" thease nusance calls because of the good job our police force has done. whether it was Dickie Douglass or Charlie Williams this community that we cherish and are proud to "announce" we live in when people ask "where do you live?".And don't lie, we all do it. is because the last 31 years of my life here our force has set a standard and consistancy for outside communities to respect and that is dont start trouble in this village. we all feel a sense of security that cant be measured monitaraly and surely not at "$150 per capita" really what is that? movie rentals? chineese food? that one bottle of wine you drank a christmas time? Seem's to me $150 off my taxes isnt a jutifiable reason to be assimilated into what the town has become in the past 15 or so years(through no fault of their own if anything they should probly hire more officers...Hummm!).

politicians always see the dollars but not the "sence". I have seen about 10 outspoken names associated with this pro-consolidation. well what about the other est.1200 village residents? please consider the difference between blotters and the quality of life you cherish, expect, and pay alittle extra for and ask yourself. Do i want to lose this?

I know I dont.

oh and i cant voice at the meetings because i'm homeward bound till my leg gets better for those that would voice "where was I when?"

To; Jill and Patty. sorry about the charlie and his men thing. twas a slip of the tounge and wasnt ment to exclude you. you two are the best at what you provide this community as individuals.