The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.
To the editor:
Gee, Officer Krupke! As Croton prepares to blow through the tax cap and return to the time when the Mayor’s motto was “Bond It!” we should consider a more cost-efficient method of dealing with the wayward youth of our village.
Croton already has a per capita police expenditure far above our neighbors, as I noted previously (The Gazette, June 11/17/20). At a whopping $552 per person per year, we might even hold the record for Westchester County.
Croton’s record is likely to stand as police spending increases by millions of dollars in the coming years. Train station parking lot revenue collapsed, causing construction plans to be delayed and scaled back. But anyone familiar with the Croton way of government knows that ultimately the Police Palace is going to be finished in all its glory. In fact, spreading out the project gives time for new goodies to be thrown into the mix.
Residents who think that the pandemic-related drop in revenue will result in a permanent reduction in the scope of the project are in for disappointment.
“As Croton prepares to blow through the tax cap and return to the time when the Mayor’s motto was “Bond It!” we should consider a more cost-efficient method of dealing with the wayward youth of our village. Croton already has a per capita police expenditure far above our neighbors . . . At a whopping $552 per person per year, we might even hold the record for Westchester County.”
Piecemeal construction will take longer than planned in the pre-covid days, but Croton taxpayers know how the story ends. The new Police Palace will take up half the Municipal Building and cost $5,000,000 in principal plus $2,000,000 in interest over 20 years (Village Manager Memo dated May 29, 2020). That doesn’t even consider the upsurge in spending as that new space gets outfitted and staffed, or what happens if interest rates go above two percent.
To show you how long this discussion has been taking place, one of the early justifications was that we needed to have separate changing rooms for males and females. Yes—dreams of a grand Police Palace were first brought up back in olden times when we were unenlightened and thought there were only two genders!
There was the Thomas’ English Muffin justification: police equipment is tucked away in nooks and crannies around that massive edifice which is the Croton Municipal Building. When a “Black Swan” appears in Croton the police won’t be able get the equipment fast enough since they will have to scavenger hunt among the nooks and crannies.
The Thomas’ muffin rationale was more an argument for calling in the folks at California Closets, but the Black Swan angle raised some legitimate and serious concerns that remain unanswered to this day. The Black Swan vanished after the Board of Trustees realized that it could lead to a public conversation as to the viability of a small village police department given today’s threat environment.
Eventually we have settled on the Wayward Youth justification: the State of New York has imposed requirements for segregation of underage detainees. Unlike the gendered changing rooms, this is a state mandate with definable criteria. To that extent, it is a legitimate concern impacting the budget.
You would think that this would present an ideal opportunity to discuss that elusive concept of shared services. Much like the Black Swan or unicorns, “shared services” is reputed to exist but may be a Croton myth. Another consideration is that even when our youth are misguided, we still want them accommodated in a manner befitting guests of the Croton PD. A simple cell added in the space formerly occupied by the Village Court would not suffice without luxurious accoutrements, hence the $7,000,000 price tag.
I have thought out a win-win alternative for both taxpayers and the youth of Croton.
At $7,000,000 over 20 years, Croton taxpayers are shelling out $350,000 per year or $958.90 per day to temporarily house the underage miscreant hordes roaming our bucolic streets. The rack rate at the former Doubletree Tarrytown has been running between $100 and $150, and I am sure that the Village Manager can negotiate a government and a volume discount. As long as we can keep it under six delinquents per day, the taxpayers come out ahead.
It looks like the pandemic has hit the hotel hard, and they have lost their Hilton franchise rights. So our youth would no longer get the famous Doubletree cookie upon arrival. On the plus side, the hotel is likely to be flexible on price and it has taken on a “Sleepy Hollow” moniker which is more upscale than “Tarrytown.”
Whether awaiting arraignment by the judge or a pickup and stern lecture from Dad, the youth of Croton would be able to watch cable and swim in the pool while taxpayers would be saving money. If lack of cookies is a deal-breaker for the Board of Trustees, I am willing to try my hand at making some Toll House and I will even make a batch for the Muni Building staff (edibility not guaranteed).
To our Village Board of Trustees, spending another thousand dollars per day for the next two decades is a trifling matter. Croton taxpayers already burdened with the most expensive police in the area might feel differently.
Paul Steinberg