By JEFF CHUDZINSKI
NORTH COUNTRY THIS WEEK

MASSENA - Village Trustees did not take official action regarding village vehicle usage, however that didn’t stop the board from debating future policy changes.

In what is becoming a hotly contested debate, officials are weighing the pros and cons of changing village policy that governs the use of village owned vehicles.

“We don’t plan to take action tonight but the committee will come back with recommendations for policy changes and we will take action next month,” Mayor Greg Paquin told the board.

The decision to work deliberately and slowly on new policy is largely due to the debate over the use of police vehicles.

Currently, five vehicles are taken home by Chief Jason Olson, a lieutenant and three detectives.

According to Olson, a multitude of reasons necessitate the current use of the vehicles, including a rapid response to crimes if necessary to ensure a senior officer is on scene of active crime scenes.

Olson had previously cited the Massena Savings and Loan robbery and arrest Michael Snow, who is accused of murdering SUNY Potsdam student Elizabeth Howell, as just two examples of the situations that warrant five vehicles going home at night.

“One thing that hasn’t been mentioned before is the collection of evidence. Many times a crime scene and the collection of data is a time sensitive process and responding as quickly as possible is crucial to gathering evidence to support cases,” Olson said.

Olson went further, saying if sufficient evidence can not be gathered or biological evidence is ruined due to wearer, insufficient evidence could mean the prosecution of crimes is not possible.

According to Olson, he along with the lieutenant and detectives are largely on call, requiring a vehicle at home to ensure a rapid response in the event of a serious crime.

Trustee Christine Winston, who sits on the committee considering policy changes, said many conversations have been had with area municipalities regarding village vehicle policies.

“We’ve spoken with Canton, Potsdam, Ogdensburg and a few others locally about their policies,” she told the board.

When asked which municipality is the most similar to Massena, Winston said in regards to vehicle usage policies and demographics Plattsburgh was the most similar.

According to Winston, multiple police officers in Plattsburgh do take vehicles home, similar to Massena.

Trustee Francis Carvel, who has been a critic of the current policy, said the village is too lax and allows too many vehicles to go home at night.

“Some places allow the DPW superintendent to take a vehicle home and that’s it. We have been too lenient for many years and that creates liability for this village,” he said.

Carvel also said it’s a privilege to take a vehicle home.

“It’s quite a perk to be in a position to take a vehicle home. This is a small community and I hear all kinds of excuses, for over 40 years, about why it’s needed. I have yet to hear a good one,” Carvel said.

Deputy Mayor Matt LeBire also touched on another concern of the board, revolving around the mileage tracking of vehicles.

“I’ve gone through over six months of logs and I worry about the accuracy. We need more accurate record keeping because we all know from one fill up to another the mileage does not always land on a zero,” he said.

According to LeBire, many times the mileage listed would go up by even increments, showing numerous discrepancies.

“I don’t think that there is any issue with the actual usage or fill ups, that’s not my concern. What worries me is the loss of equity in these vehicles because we need to track the mileage accurately to know what value is left in them,” he said.

LeBire voiced additional concerns regarding a future deal with Enterprise for fleet management.

“If we don’t manage our miles better, the equity won’t be there. I have a feeling the numbers we saw were very flawed and that concerns me. Every mile saved saves taxpayers money,” he said.

Mayor Greg Paquin said he is not concerned about the liability of vehicles going home with police officers, mentioning the crime rate in Massena that has been driven by illegal narcotics.

“I am more concerned about the liability of our officers not being able to properly and quickly respond to a situation,” Paquin said.

“I am very comfortable with the liability for the vehicles, we need them to be able to respond as fast as possible. We know every second counts, as we’ve seen in national news lately,” he continued.

Winston seconded the notion, saying she herself wants to err on the side of caution and community safety.

The committee overseeing vehicle policy will continue to meet through the coming weeks before presenting all findings to the board during next month’s board of trustees meeting.