East Syracuse, Liverpool formalizing shared-services agreement

The informal agreement between the villages of Liverpool and East Syracuse which returned Don Morris to Liverpool as its part-time chief has been favorably reviewed by officials from both villages.

After the recent resignation of two part-time police officers, Liverpool Police Chief Donald Morris has hired two replacements with years of experience in other area agencies.

At its Dec. 17 meeting, the Liverpool Village Board of Trustees accepted the resignations of part-time officers Jeff Cassino and Jeff Snoggles. The trustees approved the chief’s recommendation to hire William Gabriel, a deputy in the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, and Robert Wolf, who works for the North Syracuse Police Department.

“Both of these men have extensive credentials,” said Liverpool Mayor Gary White. “They’re both experienced investigators, and Chief Morris has had personal experience working with each of them.”

Gabriel often acts as a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, discussing major cases with members of the news media. For instance, he spoke to reporters at the scene of the hit-and-run homicide of teenager Joseph J. Ozimek III on Route 57 in early-October 2011. Later that year, Sheriff Kevin Walsh pinned a medal of valor on Gabriel’s uniform for taking charge at the scene of a house fire.

The village board also approved Morris’ recommendation that full-time officers Sean Pierce and Jerry Unger attend a workshop in Rochester in January in order to be recertified in the proper use of electroshock weapons, commonly called tasers.

Meanwhile, the informal shared-services agreement between the villages of Liverpool and East Syracuse which returned Morris to Liverpool as its part-time chief was set to be reviewed by village attorneys at the end of last month.

Morris had served as Liverpool’s chief from 1999 to 2007 before he becoming chief of the East Syracuse Police Department. On Aug. 31, he was hired here part-time to replace outgoing Chief Bill Becker.

East Syracuse Village Attorney Robert Germain is now writing an inter-municipal agreement to formalize the shared-services arrangement. Before becoming official, the new agreement will need to be approved by both Liverpool and East Syracuse village boards.

Becker’s annual salary was $68,000, but Liverpool Mayor Gary White hopes to save more than $40,000 of that sum each year with a part-time chief. White is a retired Syracuse Police Department deputy chief who oversaw general services, record keeping and briefly helmed the uniform bureau.

In August, White called the informal agreement “a trial balloon” effective through Dec. 31.

Morris, White and Trustee Jim Rosier, the board’s liaison to the police department, have all agreed that the shared-services arrangement is working smoothly. East Syracuse Mayor Danny Leidka has also been supportive.

“It’s working really well,” White said. “Everybody is extremely satisfied.”

Morris works at the Liverpool Police Department headquartered at 310 Sycamore St. from 3:15 to 7:15 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 7 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays Morris works mornings at East Syracuse, and on Tuesday and Wednesday he’s there in the afternoons.

When Germain finishes drafting the new inter-municipal agreement, it will be reviewed by Liverpool Village Attorney John Langey, White said.

“Then it could come before our board of trustees for approval at our next meeting on Jan. 23,” White said.

The Liverpool department presently has a chief, one sergeant, three full-time police officers, seven part-time police officers, one civilian employee and several part-time crossing guards.

East Syracuse has a chief, two sergeants, four full-time officers, eight part-timers and one civilian dispatcher-aide. While East Syracuse’s population of 3,178 slightly outnumbers Liverpool’s population of 2,505, but the crime rate in East Syracuse is noticeably higher, Morris said.