A Response to Amityville Political Candidate Nick LaLota: Please, Mr. LaLota, Stop Attacking Our Local Law Enforcement Professionals Who Protect Our Families 24/7 Trustee Nick LaLota 21 Ireland Place Amityville, N.Y. 11701 Dear Trustee LaLota: I recently learned -– from an article in Newsday -- that you and two other Village Board members drafted a proposal for the Amityville Police Benevolent Association to again reopen its contract with the Village. Even before getting into what we must guess was the actual substance of your “proposal,” the very means of delivery (or non-delivery) of your “proposal” immediately calls into question the sincerity of anything you say or “propose.” Thus, while you somehow managed to get your “proposal” to Newsday two weeks before your election for trustee, our organization -– the supposed recipient of your “proposal” -- has not yet received anything from you. Nothing. Probably “good politics” on your part. But being willing to seriously address the issues facing our community (to say nothing of the safety and well-being of the people in our community), I think, is more important than “good politics.” As a new resident to our Village and new appointee to our Village Board, we welcome you. However, you appear to be unaware of the facts regarding the past concessions our members have taken. The Amityville PBA has continually demonstrated we are willing to work collaboratively with the Village for the best interests of the residents. The 2007–2013 contract froze academy pay for the life of the contract and lowered salary steps up to top pay. In 2011, at the request of the Village, we reopened that contract, extended it until 2018, froze wages for 2013. In 2013, again at the request of the Village, we again reopened the contract. This time the PBA agreed to a wage freeze for 30 months, and agreed it would take new hires 12 years to reach top pay and they would pay for part of their health insurance. All of these contracts were unanimously approved by the Village Board. And all this in the context of what many would describe as the remarkable, indeed, unique service that our police officers in Amityville provide to the community. Our officers are not only among the most highly-trained law enforcement professionals in New York State, but because the overwhelming majority of them live in our Village, they have the detailed knowledge and strong personal and family commitment to serve us in a way that very few communities ever come close to experiencing. Just ask your neighbors. And what does this high-quality professional law enforcement cost? A fair question. It currently costs less than $10 per month per household. And, yet, we are always open and willing to having a productive dialog regarding the concerns and needs of the Village. As documented above, we have always been willing to make adjustments – indeed provide substantial concessions if necessary – to do our part to deal with the fiscal and economic realities our community faces. We will not, however, sit idly by while you -- or any other politician -- falsely disparage the brave law enforcement professionals who every day serve this community with courage and commitment. We understand and acknowledge what clearly seems to be your overwhelming desire for political office…but we do not believe that the many residents of Amityville who have been personally helped by their caring and professional officers would want us to accept the denigration -- by you or anyone else -- of their local community police officers. We wish you well and express our willingness to discuss any of these issues with you. We would, however, expect that in the future you would follow the very basic courtesy of sending us your “proposals” before you run to the press. Sincerely, Christian Mullin Amityville PBA President
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 10:24:44 +0000