County Signs Police Agreement with Ossining

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and Ossining Supervisor Catherine Borgia today made it official, signing an Inter-Municipal Agreement (IMA) which will allow the Town to share police services with Westchester County, a move that will save taxpayers about $600,000 a year to start.

The signing was a symbolic one, the IMA actually went into effect on January 1 when 10 officers from Ossining were sworn in as Westchester County Police officers. Negotiations for the IMA began in June 2010.

Under the new agreement, Westchester County Police are providing patrol and investigative services to the Town of Ossining. In November 2010, County Police took over all dispatching and communications functions from the Town of Ossining Police. The move allowed Town police officers to participate in cross-training with County police officers.

In addition, the Town's Police Chief, Mark Busche was sworn in as a Captain in the County Police Department, a move Borgia says "Amounted to a demotion for him in order to make the entire agreement work."