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OSSINING, N.Y. -- The unincorporated portion of the Town of Ossining (a.k.a. Town Outside) hired Westchester County four years ago to provide police services after disbanding its own very expensive police force.
The Westchester County police have performed superbly in that role. However, their contract expires at the end of 2014 and the Town of Ossining has once again solicited proposals from interested police departments.
Four years ago, these same governmental bodies submitted proposals to provide these services. The bids were approximately $300,000 per year apart with the low bidder being the Village of Ossining.
For reasons never explained, the four town board members chose to award the contract to Westchester County, the high bidder.
This would be a good time for Trustees Geoffrey Harter and Northern Wilcher, the two remaining Ossining village residents still on the town board, to publicly justify their vote that cost the Town Outside residents more than $1.2 million over four years just on the contract itself.
Over the four years of the contract, the Village of Ossining’s bid was substantially lower than that of Westchester County. The Village of Ossining’s average annual charge over the life of the 4-year contract is $1,873,061 vs. Westchester County’s average annual charge of $2,579,788.
The bids speak for themselves. The Village of Ossining’s bid is a firm number while Westchester County’s proposal has some admitted wiggle room in the ultimate annual charge. I urge the entire town board to consider who is paying for the police contract when they vote to spend our money.
It is important for the members of the Ossining Town Board to hear your thoughts on this important subject. They can be contacted at:
Susanne Donnelly: sdonnelly@townofossining.com Eric P. Blaha: blaha@townofossining.com Geoffrey Harter: harter@townofossining.com Kim Jeffrey: jeffrey@townofossining.com Northern Wilcher: wilcher@townofossining.com
Thank you for your help,
Jerry Gershner
GERSHNER REALTY SERVICES
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