Sunday, October 14, 2007

Lloyd Harbor schedules hearing
on ending police commission

The village board in Lloyd Harbor meets tomorrow night to hold public hearings on three proposed laws involving public safety – including a measure to change the way the police department is managed.

Since 1985, the village police department has been run by a board of police commissioners consisting of two trustees and a chairperson appointed by the mayor, with the approval of the board of trustees. The measure being discussed tomorrow night would abolish the board of police commissioners and replace it with a police chief who would report to the board of trustees.

The village arranged for a study by Melito & Associates, a management consulting firm with experience in police operations. The study pointed out only 20 out of 388 police departments in the state are managed by a police commission, with Lloyd Harbor being the only such department among the 22 in Suffolk County.

According to the village, the report concluded that by having a police chief the village “is likely to get the most oversight and operational value for its police dollars spent.”

The village is also holding hearings on laws to reduce the speed limit on the West Neck Road/Lloyd Harbor Road causeway to 35 m.p.h. – to match the rest of the village – and to double stripe the road as a no-passing zone. Both measures were prompted by traffic accidents along the causeway.

The hearings are scheduled to start at 8 p.m. at the Lloyd Harbor Elementary School on School Lane.

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