Muttontown wants own police force

One of seven villages served by Old Brookville police plans to form its own force, stirring controversy among the North Shore communities.

Saying they want more control for their money, Muttontown trustees unanimously voted this week not to renew its end of the contract managing a 40-officer department. The other partners are Brookville, Old Brookville, Upper Brookville, Cove Neck, Mill Neck and Matinecock.

If, by Thursday night, other villages don't agree to reconsider division of police funds, Mayor Julianne Beckerman said she'll try to have her own force in place by the current agreement's May 31 expiration.

"We wouldn't do this without great consideration and research," Beckerman said in an interview Wednesday. "This is obviously something that transcends just money."

The mayor said Muttontown contributes more than a quarter of Old Brookville police funding -- nearly $3 million a year, more than any partner -- yet has no larger voice.

The system of village contributions is based on Nassau County assessment rolls.

"This skewed model has created numerous inequities among the partners," Beckerman wrote in a letter to village residents earlier this month.

Not everyone agrees. Tuesday night's board of trustees meeting, which stretched into early Wednesday, was packed with residents and Old Brookville police officers opposed to Muttontown's plan.

Larry Smiley, a former planning board member and trustee candidate, called Beckerman's arguments "preposterous." He said he prefers paying more than other villages for a long-standing police force that knows the community, rather than starting from scratch.

"If it's not broke, then don't fix it," said Smiley, a physician who has lived in the village for more than a decade.

Beckerman said she can operate a 12-officer department, with one chief, at a first-year cost of about $2.5 million. She estimated $390,000 for start-up equipment, including vehicles.

Old Brookville Police Chief Maurice Sullivan didn't return a call for comment. Trustees from the villages that accounted for roughly the same number of police calls last year -- Brookville, covering C.W. Post Campus at Long Island University, and Old Brookville -- couldn't be reached.

Beckerman said Muttontown's new force would provide more coverage, but acknowledged the village is under "a very tight time frame."

Chris Sweeney, president of the Old Brookville police union, doubted the new force could be created by May 31, saying the village would likely have to contract with Nassau police for about a year, at a cost of up to 15 percent more.

"And we would lose approximately 12 people," said Sweeney, adding that the union is considering legal action. "It's devastating."