LIVERPOOL — In January, an Oswego Street couple – Louis Bottino and Tricia Case – requested that the Liverpool Village Board of Trustees amend the village code to allow the raising of poultry within the village.

Last year, a similar request was posed by a Hazel Street resident.

Bottino followed up by attending the Feb. 16 trustees’ meeting at which he explained that he and Case own four free-range birds housed in a coop on a large lot behind their house at 712 Oswego St.

At the trustees’ March 15 meeting, however, Trustee Jason Recor warned that making the change could have unwanted repercussions.

“I’d say 90% of the residents I’ve talked with are against it,” Recor reported. “They’re adamant.”

The concerned neighbors cited unpleasant odors and noise as reasons for their opposition.

“On some hot summer day, if we approve this we might regret it,” Recor observed.

Mayor Gary White seemed to agree.

“Let’s give it another couple of months,” White said, “and we’ll get some people in here to talk about it.”

The village code currently reads, “No animals, other than domestic animals as defined in § 380-5 of this chapter shall be maintained, housed or harbored in the village of Liverpool.”

The code defines “domestic animals” as “dogs and cats, as well as other common household pets such as fish, hamsters, gerbils and birds which are maintained indoors. This term shall exclude farm animals (horses, livestock and poultry) and wild or other dangerous animals.”

Board approves police plan

Also at the March 15 meeting, the Liverpool Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved a package of reforms listed by provisional Police Chief Jerry Unger.

The chief developed the plan in response to an executive order issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June – New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. The order requires every local government with a police agency to develop a plan to improve its police deployments, strategies and policies.

After the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis Police on May 25, use of force became a nationwide concern. According to the Cuomo’s instructions, each police agency’s reform plan must address specific local needs and promote community engagement to foster trust, fairness and to address any racial bias.

Unger showed the trustees the 59-page order from Albany and pointed out that much of what the governor addressed didn’t apply specifically to an agency in a place as small as Liverpool’s one-square-mile.

“Here in the village, we don’t have a lot of the issues that other agencies have,” Unger said.

All of the LPD’s officers – four full-time and eight part-time – have received anti-bias training, Unger said, and the department’s use-of-force policy emphasizes de-escalation techniques. Liverpool officers are trained in proper arrest procedures and the dangers of positional asphyxia, which apparently led to Floyd’s death in Minnesota.

Unger will create a Chief’s Advisory Board, comprised of two residents appointed by the mayor, five random residents and the chief.

Mayor Gary White – who is a retired deputy chief of the Syracuse Police Department – described the LPD as very progressive.

“We’re really way ahead of the curve here,” White said as he thanked Unger for his work on the reforms.

The trustees had to approve the plan so it could be sent to Albany by April 1 in order preserve LPD’s eligibility for future state funding.

Two accidents in February

Provisional Liverpool Police Chief Jerry Unger reported to trustees on March 15 that the LPD made 156 traffic stops in February, and officers issued 89 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws.

Two traffic accidents were investigated last month, and 18 parking tickets were written. Officers made 115 residential checks and 483 business checks during February while responding to a total of 484 incidents and calls for service.

The LPD arrested 12 individuals last month on 14 criminal charges.

The trustees officially accepted the resignation of full-time Officer Kevin Greenwood, who is leaving the LPD to join the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.