MASSENA -- The Massena Police Department will add another officer in the 2024-25 fiscal year budget in hopes of curtailing both crime and overtime expenses.

Village trustees and Police Chief Jason Olson hashed out the details during a budget session held on April 11.

"We're not asking for quite a bit different out of this budget compared to last year, although we did request to canvas for an additional patrol officer," Olson told trustees.

While Olson did say the additional officer is a backfill position to account for Juvenile Officer Michael Flynn being named as the Massena Central School District's school resource officer, he noted that the new officer could likely save the village money.

"Obviously we're just going off of the numbers we have right now but from what I have calculated it looks like we could save almost $100,000 in overtime expenses next year," he said.

Olson said the department currently has exceeded $332,000 for the current fiscal year that ends on May 31.

According to Olson, the need to add an additional officer is long overdue as the department has maintained 22 officers for the better part of the last decade.

"I think we all can agree that crime has gone up. We're averaging 10,000 calls for service. Six years ago, we were averaging five (thousand calls) and it had been that way for a while. I can go back to 2012 and we maintained five (thousand calls) until about 2018. Since then, it's jumped significantly every year. So, now we're at 10,000 calls for service. So yes additional officers are definitely going to help with the community needs in that regard," Olson said.

One benefit to the agreement with the school district is that the district will pay for the backfill officer, Olson said.

"It's at no cost to the village, that additional officer. So, we can take that additional officer and place them where we need to because we know we have a mandate clause. Our heavy hours (for service) are between 3 p.m. to 3 a.m., so when somebody calls in sick or they're out on vacation or whatever the case may be, we don't have to backfill that with overtime," Olson said.

"The officer's there to cover that and we're not paying for the officer because the agreement says the district is paying for that particular officer," he said.

"As everybody in this room knows, overtime is driven by the manning clause. My hands are tied when it comes to that. I have to follow the contract and if I don't they're going to grieve it and we're going to lose, which will cost us more money," Olson said.

Olson said he could save overtime in places "not bound by the CBA" as well, saying the department has done a good job of monitoring those details.

"We catch things here and there but really, we hold the line and adhere to the CBA. Some of the areas we looked to cut overtime were training and instructing. If they're going off to instruct at the academy, if it's going to create overtime, then we're not going to allow it. We put a freeze on training if it's going to create overtime. We did that to save overtime," he said.

When asked just how much the village could save in overtime expenses, Olson reiterated that the department must be fully staffed to see any savings.

"We have to be at full staff because of the manning clause for this to work. If we're at full staff, we can potentially save up to $100,000 in overtime. But I have nothing to base that on, I can base it on numbers, on simple math. But I've never had this before, I've never been in this position as an administrator where I had a three to three patrol officer where I can see that type of savings," he said.

Olson said he is now at 22 officers, which includes one that is currently in the academy. That officer will be available once they have graduated from the academy in May, he said.

Olson said he recognized the financial position the village was in, leading him to ask for only one officer, despite call numbers doubling in the last six years.

"I'm not asking for double the officers. If you want to break it down even further though, the cost per call was $245. That's what the village is spending for police officers to answer that call for service, 245 bucks in 2012. Now with the same amount of police officers with less calls, that cost was $350. We're doing a heck of a lot more with the same amount of people," Olson said.

A large component that has led to the rise in call numbers stems from repeat offenders, he said.

"It's repeat offenders, it's bad legislation that's allowing these people to continually do what they're doing. We're not unique in that in Massena, it's everywhere in the state. But it's repeat offenders that drive that number up," he said.

Olson also commented on the types of crime that have risen, saying major incidents like felony crimes have risen "astronomically" since 2012.

"The drug problem is absolutely massive, it's blown up. It started to get really bad in 2012 and it's happened in other communities as well," he said.

The issue has become so bad in Massena, that Olson said he was approached by police in Saranac Lake for advice on how to handle the influx of illicit drugs.

"The town is seeing significant problems and they're looking for ways to fix it. That's why I spoke with them, they're asking for some advice, some guidance on that. I mean, look at Plattsburgh, Watertown, it's everywhere," Olson said.

Drug offenses have also led to other crimes as well.

"You look at the people that are committing those crimes and there's a common denominator with every single one. They're addicts and they're severely addicted to fentanyl, methamphetamine. We're not talking about the weekend warrior that, you know, does a little bit of partying on the weekend. We're talking about severe drug addicts with severe mental health issues. The mental health issues have also gone through the roof," Olson said.

Olson said he doesn't like "painting this picture," but cautioned that residents should be aware of the reality the north country as a whole is facing.

"This is the reality and this is my number one priority. I have to look at this with public safety in mind, first and foremost. It's our job to maintain public safety in this community so the quality of life does change for the worse. That's what we're going to do, that's what we're focused on," Olson said.