Union goes to court in village police case

A judge Friday deferred action until a Tuesday hearing on the Old Brookville police union's request to stop Muttontown from establishing its own police force.

The Old Brookville Police Benevolent Association went to court seeking a temporary restraining order to stop Muttontown from leaving Old Brookville's coverage, which is expected to trigger layoffs.

State Supreme Court Justice Stephen Bucaria took no action after attorneys for the parties said there would be no layoffs before the hearing Tuesday.

PBA attorney Steven Schlesinger said that though the contract between seven villages, including Muttontown, and the Old Brookville Police Department doesn't expire until May 31, a separate contract between Muttontown and the PBA runs for another year. Leaving Old Brookville to create a police department violates that contract, Schlesinger said.

But Mayor Julianne Beckerman said, "We firmly believe we are within our rights."

Village officials told residents this week that the new police department would be ready by June 1, when the contract expires with the Old Brookville force that has protected the village for 62 years.

Beckerman and new Police Chief William McHale said nine of the new department's 12 officers were leaving other area law enforcement agencies and would be ready to work immediately. The remaining officers must go through training.

Muttontown in March withdrew from a seven-village pact with the Old Brookville Police Department amid concerns about the cost, which last year totaled $2.85 million.

Many residents have urged the village board to remain with Old Brookville police, but Beckerman said the other villages did not respond to her request to leave the current system in place for another year while reviewing how payments were assessed. She said that left Muttontown with no choice but to form its own department or to contract with Nassau County.

McHale said each Muttontown police shift would have two patrol cars for the 6-square-mile village, with a third available every other day. Old Brookville provides six cars to cover the seven villages per shift, he said.

The other six villages -- Brookville, Old Brookville, Upper Brookville, Matinecock, Mill Neck and Cove Neck -- last week reached an agreement to maintain the current budget for another year. But Muttontown's departure may still lead to 10 to 13 officers being laid off, police union leaders said.