Upper Brookville, Muttontown create new police department to patrol villages

Upper Brookville and Muttontown will be policed by a joint law enforcement department beginning June 1 after the Old Brookville police department stops patrolling other villages.

The agreement, signed last month by Upper Brookville Mayor Elliot Conway and Muttontown Mayor James Liguori, will create the Muttontown and Upper Brookville Police Department, or MUB PD, from the existing Muttontown department.

Muttontown acting clerk-treasurer Joe Russo said in an interview that the joint force will bring savings to both villages.

"It’s good economies of scale given the proximity — the fact that we border each other — and the combining of the police departments and the need to only add an additional officer or two."

The Old Brookville Police Department is providing police services to its village and five others — Upper Brookville, Brookville, Mill Neck, Matinecock and Cove Neck — through May 31. That policing agreement fell apart over disputes involving health care benefits. The Old Brookville Police Department will continue serving its village, but Brookville is forming its own police department that will serve Mill Neck, Matinecock and Cove Neck.

Conway declined to comment on the agreement, provided by the village in response to a Freedom of Information Law request.

Russo said the annual budget for the current Muttontown force — which includes 12 officers, one sergeant and a chief — is $3.3 million. The projected budget for the joint force is $4 million to $4.1 million, which includes increased salary for an officer expected to be promoted to sergeant, the addition of a new officer, a new vehicle and other expenses. The department will review during the year whether it needs to hire a second additional officer or whether duties can be covered by overtime, Russo said.

The police budget will be split between the villages, with Muttontown paying for 67.7% of the cost and Upper Brookville paying 32.3%, using a formula that considers population and number of housing units.

During the first 18 months of the five-year agreement, the branding of the Muttontown Police Department on uniforms and cars will be changed to incorporate the new name, according to the agreement. The agreement requires the police department to assign a minimum of one officer and police car to Upper Brookville 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The police department will continue to be headquartered next to Muttontown Village Hall, with a substation in Upper Brookville occupying a portion of the Old Brookville police building at Wolver Hollow Road and Route 25A.