Proposal to eliminate Village of Pulaski Police Dept. will be discussed at public hearing in Feb.
/ Dora Scheidell
PULASKI -- This spring, residents of the village of Pulaski will be asked to vote on eliminating the village of Pulaski Police Department. The board will hold public hearing in February.
Police Chief Ellory Terpening was told about the proposal on his birthday.
"It would be a loss to me. I'd miss it. I would miss everything about this village. It's like a second home to me I guess," says Terpening.
If the village of Pulaski decides to eliminate the police department, nine officers will loose their jobs.Calls will be dispatched to the Oswego County Sheriff's Deparment and the New York State Police.
With the huge area they're already responsible to cover, there's worry response times could be compromised for the village.
"I'm sure not all the time but sometimes the response times will change, just because of the distance they will be traveling from point A to point B, so there will be a change absolutely," says Terpening.
Neighbors echoed the chief's concerns and added new ones. Barbara Youmans is worried about the elderly population.
"There's a lot of elderly people there. We've had robberies. And the police are very prompt about answering the calls. I don't think you would get that if you unite with another police because they're going to be pulled 3 or 4 different ways," says Youmans.
Edward Delaney is a former mayor of Pulaski and thinks this could hurt tourism centered around the fishing industry.
"I think that's a foolish thing to do. Because in the fall we have a lot of fisherman out here we need the police," says Delaney.
The public vote will take place sometime in March.
