BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg City Council voted against exempting the police chief position from the hiring freeze and remains without a city manager or fire chief.

Councilors Michael Powers, Nichole Kennedy and Dan Skamperle voted in favor of a measure that would have allowed the city to fill the vacant police chief position, but were defeated by Mayor Jeffrey Skelly, Deputy Mayor John Rishe and councilors Bill Dillabough and Steven Fisher.

Police Chief

The resolution was read by the city manager and said that New York State law requires municipalities maintaining a police department serving a population of 150,000 or less with positions for more than four full-time police officers, shall maintain the office of chief of police.

The position has been vacant since May 30 following the retirement of Chief Andrew Kennedy.

While audio was hard to make out via the online meeting format, those in favor have sought to fill the recent vacancies in various administrative positions. Those opposed have frequently cited a need for cuts and fewer administrative positions.

The vote followed a presentation from Lt. Robert Wescott, who has been serving as the defacto leader of the department.

Wescott said staffing levels at the department are low and pointed out that effectively five positions have been cut since the beginning of the year.

He said the department is operating without enough officers. He said three are out on injuries, four cut due to cost savings, and the unfilled chief position.

He also pointed out that officers must also provide security at the airport and fulfill its obligation to provide a school resource officer for the school district.

Wescott said at the same time the department has been asked to reduce overtime, which he says won’t likely be possibly given the understaffed nature of the department.

“Keeping in mind airport security, community events, mandatory appearances, mandatory training, and the many other unexpected events that often come up, it is also not unusual in the busy summer months for a shift to become so busy that an additional officer needs to be called in to handle the call volume. Personnel becomes stretched thin, and it then becomes difficult to fill just the regular shifts when overtime is needed,” he said.

He said despite the budget cut, it’s impossible to know if the department can meet the proposal.

“However, to maintain all that is asked of the department it is imperative that the department receives the resources it needs. The actual savings in overtime per the resolutions is supposed to amount to $114,000. Keeping in mind all the actual savings amount will be unknown until the end of the year. I do not see how the department will not go over on its revised 2020 operational overtime budget of $63,784 no matter how personnel may be shifted or scheduled.”

Fire Chief

For the past several firefighters have also requested council to fill the fire chief’s position but have not been successful.

Union members have pointed out that the appointment would actually save the city money, but the council has continued to leave the position vacant.

On Monday the council did pass a resolution that authorizes temporary out-of-title pay to any assistant chief who assumes the regular daily duties of fire chief for a maximum of 40 hours per week.

Ogdensburg’s firefighter union president Jason Bouchard said the city’s assistant chiefs are capable of filling the role temporarily, but said for long-term continuity and stability, the department needs a chief.

“It’s a job to divide among four men,” he said. “Without a doubt it would be a savings to the city to appoint an acting chief,” he said.

Bouchard said the contract between the city and the fire union requires firefighters to receive out- of-title pay for out of title work

City Manager

Ogdensburg city council has also left vacant the position of city manager. Assistant City Manager and City Planner Andrea Smith has assumed the duties, but council has issued no requests for proposals to fill the position.

An idea was floated by Skelly to appoint former Watertown mayor and radio show host Jeff Graham as an interim manager, but Graham declined before the proposal was formally presented.

There has been little public discussion of the city’s plans to fill the position.

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