Joint Village and Town Police Committee develops reform plan

MILLERTON — The Joint Village of Millerton and Town of North East Police Committee came closer to finalizing its Police Reform Plan for the Millerton Police Department (MPD) by fine tuning the draft and inviting both the committee and the public to submit comments at the meetings held on Feb. 24 and March 3, both Wednesdays.

Both meetings were held at 6 p.m. via Zoom and live streamed to the “Village of Millerton VOM” Facebook page due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Feb. 24 committee meeting

To start the meeting on Feb. 24, Village Trustee and committee member Matthew Hartzog thanked everyone who worked on the draft and invited committee members to share their thoughts on the draft’s status and other items to be included.

“I think what we have going on right now… is some really solid work,” said fellow Trustee and committee member Joshua Schultz, “and I think it’s a great rough draft to begin releasing while we work on it towards our upcoming public hearing, but I think what’s gone on throughout this last week has been fantastic, so I’m very happy with where we’re at as far as progression of this plan is concerned.”

Hartzog asked the committee about adding a section for filing a complaint and what that procedure might entail. Deputy North East town Supervisor Ralph Fedele asked if there’s a current policy in place, to which Millerton Police Officer in Charge Mike Veeder replied there is an official form and procedure in place to handle complaints. He mentioned the form should be posted on the village website, www.villageofmillerton.net, so it’s more visible to the public.

Hartzog later asked if the committee wants to include a section about county-wide community resources. Schultz remarked it would be a great addition to both the plan and to the village website.

Prior to the public hearing, the committee agreed it would be wise to publish the draft plan online to give the community an opportunity to examine it and reach out with any comments or suggestions. 

After discussing the committee’s comments, suggestions from the public were reviewed. Comments including making sure each complaint is responded to by the Police Department within a certain time frame and that privacy is maintained when a complaint is submitted.

March 3 committee meeting

Initiating what he hoped would be the committee’s last meeting, Hartzog announced on March 3 that the draft of the Police Reform Plan was completed the previous weekend and posted to both the village and the town website (www.townofnortheastny.gov). The complaint form was also posted on the village website under the Village Board tab.

Once the March 3 meeting was opened for public comment, the committee reviewed and discussed suggestions submitted by North East resident Bill Kish. Along with recommending that a new mission statement be created with the needs and desires of the community “front and center,” Kish suggested the MPD’s policies be reviewed to make sure they align with the new mission statement; that two non-elected members be added to the joint police committee; and that the joint police committee be the agency that receives complaints.

Public Hearing set

The required public hearing on the Police Reform Plan will be held on Thursday, March 11, at 6 p.m. via Zoom. 

For more details or the hearing’s Zoom link, call 518-789-4489 or email Village Clerk Kelly Kilmer at clerk@villageofmillerton.com.

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