The Village of Owego Board of Trustees has eliminated two full-time police officer positions from the Owego Police Department. The vote came in at 5-2 in favor of eliminating the already vacant positions from the budget during a public meeting last night. OPD has been covering the vacancies with part-time officers until the vacancies were filled. Covering these full-time positions has been both expensive and a hurdle for the Owego Police Department.
Also troublesome, is the issue of waivers. OPD currently has 3 retired police officers, working for the department, earning more than the state retirement system allows. With waivers in place, that’s not a problem, but with those waivers set to expire June 30th, Chief Vinti won’t be able to use those officers again until January 1st. Vinti will have to replace those officers with other eligible part time officers, without going over any state mandates, or breaking any union agreements. The village itself however, likely now faces union action for understaffing, and possibly other issues.
News Radio WEBO has reached out to Owego Mayor Steve May for comment.
In addition to the two cuts at OPD, two more cuts were ordered at the Village Department of Public Works at last night’s meeting. The Village Board eliminated two vacant positions at DPW which have remained unfilled for nearly two years.
