Village approves police contract despite concerns

The Westchester County police precinct on Green Street in Mount Kisco. The Village Board approved a new contract with the Department of Public Safety through the end of 2029. Martin Wilbur photos

By MARTIN WILBUR

A new police contract with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety was approved by the Mount Kisco Village Board on Monday despite concerns the department has not been fulfilling all of its obligations.

The board voted 4-0 to ratify the new intermunicipal agreement that includes the final nine months of 2025 through Dec. 31, 2029. Deputy Mayor Karen Schleimer abstained from the vote because of her objections to whether the county has been complying with all of the terms of the previous five-year contract, which expired on Dec. 31, 2024, and was extended for three months. Issues surrounding retirement and other benefits contributed to the delay.

Mount Kisco representatives and the Department of Public Safety executive staff are tentatively scheduled to meet next week at Village Hall to resolve outstanding issues.

Village Manager Ed Brancati said most of the requests from the board were included in the new agreement.

“We got as much as we could into this to address most of these things,” Brancati said. “Not everything is quite what everyone wanted. I think the county had some concerns with some items, some language, but we got most of this addressed.”

Under the terms of the contract, Mount Kisco will pay the county $5,914,398 for the final three quarters of last year, after being charged $1,810,665 for the first quarter. Increases in payments, referred to in the contract as an annual fee, are capped at 2% a year for the remaining length of the contract unless the county can demonstrate a larger increase is needed. The village has not paid the county for police services since the expiration of the previous contract and will have to pay that fee, Brancati noted.

The village will provide 17 full-time equivalent officers, three full-time equivalent detectives and five sergeants, with one of those sergeants assigned to a patrol car at all times. That is the same staffing level agreed to in the expired contract, he said.

There have been comments from residents and this week from board members that some of the promised services have not been delivered. Schleimer said she has heard from constituents and has seen herself that there does not appear to be a patrol car at the Mount Kisco Metro-North train station for the arrival of the evening trains after sunset. 

“It was very comforting when a police car was present,” Schleimer said. “I think we all know it is not always possible depending on staffing, depending on emergencies, exigencies, but when there’s not such an event and we’re just doing routine patrolling, part of that patrolling was to meet those trains.”

Police were also supposed to check the licenses of livery drivers and their vehicles, Schleimer said. She also hoped to pose various questions to police brass before the vote was held.

On Monday evening, Trustee Tom Luzio mentioned that county police representatives had not been meeting with the village on a quarterly basis as had been promised. Trustee Tammy Brown said that she had heard of or received complaints that the Green Street precinct’s foyer and the outdoor callbox when a person comes to headquarters is unwelcoming.

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich said he wanted to approve the contract at Monday’s meeting and address the issues with the police when they meet Jan. 14.

“There are issues. In any place with policing there are issues, and it’s a challenge,” said Cindrich, a retired Mamaroneck lieutenant. “But it’s been said to me many, many times by representatives of other communities, policing is becoming very, very expensive. It’s a major part of every budget in Westchester County, Putnam County, probably in Dutchess County. We know where it is in New York City, but it’s a challenge, and it’s a challenge we may have to face with the fire department in a few years.”

Resident and retired police veteran Lou Terlizzi, who served in the old Mount Kisco Police Department, said given there was little public discussion about the police contract and that the agreement will be in effect for the rest of the decade, the vote should have waited until the board met with the county.

‘If they’re not fulfilling their obligations, I’m not sure why we voted on the contract tonight,” Terlizzi said. 

“We’re paying for it and we should hold their feet to the fire as far as the contract,” he added.

Brancati said that despite the imperfections, Mount Kisco receives top-notch coverage from the county police.

“Nothing is perfect. I don’t think anyone expects that it is or assumes that it is,” Brancati said. “There’s still work to be done, but this is still the most efficient, effective model to provide the highest level of police services to this community.”

Cindrich said in the time that the village has received police coverage from the county, there have been no lawsuits or complaints against an individual police officer to his knowledge.

The village has been contracting for its police services since June 2015, when it discontinued its local department in order to save money and have additional services that a larger department can provide.

Martin Wilbur has more than 30 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, and previously served as editor-in-chief of The Examiner.