OSWEGO – The New York State Police Reform Collaborative was the first order of discussion during last night’s Oswego Common Council meeting, Monday, Dec. 14.
Mayor Billy Barlow started the meeting with the Mayor’s Report, explaining the specifics in the collaborative.
In April, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an Executive Order mandating all Law Enforcement Agencies in New York State to develop, present and adopt new police reform plans. Failure to submit a proposal may result in state aid reductions; the cutbacks also occurring from state budget shortfalls.
Barlow worked with Oswego Police Chief Phil Cady and others at the Oswego Police Department to develop a comprehensive plan including the addition of several proposals. The panel was followed by the appointment of a Police Reform Committee on November 7, with publication of the processes moving forward.
After reviewing the proposal for a month, the committee is now ready to present the plan to the public, the meeting scheduled for Wednesday night, Dec. 16 at 6:30 in the McCrobie building.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event will be live-streamed for public viewing on Barlow’s government Facebook page or the City of Oswego’s YouTube channel.
The press will be allowed, with a 25-seat limit for people who want to attend/find the issue of great importance. At the conclusion of the presentation, there will be an open comment period for attendees.
For those who are watching online, a link will be available for people to write in their comments to the Police Commissioner. All comments will be taken into consideration, some likely to be incorporated into final plan.
The next committee meeting will be held in January; the finalized plan will admitted to the Administrative Services Committee after approval.
“We’re being more transparent and public with our plan than any other municipality I’ve seen to date because my public forum goes to the Administrative Services Committee where people can obviously comment with the committee, and make their opinions and feelings known,” Barlow said. “Then it goes to the Common Council like any other local law would. It doesn’t have to go through this process, but I want it to. It goes through the Public Common Council to establish the public hearing and then two weeks after that, will be the public hearing and the final vote of the plan. And then we’ll submit the plan, hopefully on February first.”
Next in the Mayor’s Report, Barlow took time to thank the Council and all Oswego government departments for their activity throughout the year, including the challenges of working to keep COVID-19 rates low, while moving planned city projects forward. More information on the 2020 Year in Review can be found here.
“Of course because of COVID, we try to tell the department heads to stay home, but I felt it was important to thank them for another year,” Barlow said. “Our fifth year in office now behind us; at this point with everything that’s been dealt to us this year, we made considerable progress. What I’d like to do is spend a couple of minutes highlighting everything that we’ve accomplished this year – as a year in review highlight reel.”
Councilors John Gosek and Robert Corradino commented on Barlow’s address, thanking him and the city departments for their hard work and commitment during this very challenging year.
“I certainly want to make sure that you, Mayor, are given credit. You were certainly at the forefront of the battle. It was a war against this virus, and you as Commander-in-Chief of our city, you were right there at the forefront,” Corradino said. “I think that certainly, you did an outstanding job. Again, I’d like to publicly thank you for all your hard work.”
Another item discussed on the meeting agenda was the Combined Sewer Separation – Third 25% Project. Nearing completion, the city’s contract resulted in a lower financial amount compared to the original contract estimates, resulting in a difference of $292,105.52.
Barlow asked for an amendment to the resolution, asking to set aside $50,000 to cover plumbing issues that occurred yesterday in the West Seneca Street area. Barlow mentioned city contractors making adjustments to the sewer issues before the city closes out the project. Contractors were unaware of the problems until the issue presented itself.
The project separates the Westside sewer system from the storm system. The combined system resulted in unpermitted discharges in Lake Ontario/Oswego River. The project will be monitored for a two-year time frame to ensure optimal system operation.
All items on the agenda were unanimously passed by the Council. To view the agenda, please click here. All Common Council meetings are held the second and fourth Monday of every month, the next meeting in January to be announced.
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This isn’t really a problem for Oswego. Most citizens here follow the law and are respectful of others and the police. This is really only a problem in the “blm” cities with the 12/52 problem. Common sense goes a long way.