Village may end police deal with Nassau

The already unsettled situation of police protection in the "estate villages" of Nassau's North Shore has grown even more fluid as Laurel Hollow considers ending its contract with the county for police coverage, citing increasing costs.

The village is examining the feasibility of contracting with Oyster Bay Cove's police department. The two communities have hired a consultant to determine if both could benefit financially from such a move.

Laurel Hollow now pays more than $1.6 million of its annual $3.2 million budget for police protection by the Nassau County force.

Mayor Harvinder Anand said the possible shift "has nothing to do with the quality of service we get from Nassau County," which he said was entirely satisfactory.

"We are looking at other options primarily because of the dramatic increase [in costs] we have seen from Nassau County," he said. He attributed that to "the broken assessment system. We feel that Laurel Hollow has been affected by some of the inaccuracies in the assessment system. We pay our police costs based on the assessed values."

He also cited the county's shift of almost $30 million in costs into a district budget that includes the community, "and we pay based on the district tax. That has further contributed to a significant increase in our police budget."

"So the [village] board decided that we should at least look at other options," he said.

After several weeks of discussions initiated by Laurel Hollow, the two villages hired consultant Michael Fleming, a retired Nassau County police officer and attorney who lives in Laurel Hollow. Fleming will make a recommendation within three months regarding the financial impact of a Laurel Hollow arrangement with Oyster Bay Cove.

"If at the end of the day, each of us don't save any money, that will be it," Oyster Bay Cove Mayor Rosemary Bourne said.

Nassau Police did not immediately comment.

Laurel Hollow has been approached by Old Brookville about an arrangement with that village's police department. "I have told them we would be interested in looking at a proposal from them," Anand said. That move follows Muttontown's decision last month to pull out of the Old Brookville department and form its own department.

Laurel Hollow's own department was disbanded 13 years ago because of high costs. Upper Brookville may end its coverage arrangement with Old Brookville because of costs and pursue Nassau County police coverage instead.