Cuomo administration in early talks about police agency merger

ALBANY — Speculation about the state Park police being absorbed into the State Police has returned, with efficiency and salary improvements being mentioned as potential benefits.

A merger is on the wish list of the union representing the about 270 police officers in the state Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, which maintains that the administrative change would make the state's 180 parks safer and save taxpayers money in the long run.

The change would also result in better financial perks for the park police officers, including improved disability and retirement benefits, which their union says would help address retention challenges.

"We've heard from a number of different sources that something is happening about a possible merger, but when we've approached the agency about it they've been tight lipped," said Daniel De Federicis, executive director of the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, which represents park police officers.

New York State Troopers PBA President Thomas Mungeer also confirmed that "high-level talks" about the proposal are going on.

Cuomo senior adviser Richard Azzopardi said discussions of a merger were at a preliminary stage.

"We're always examining ways to create efficiencies and better deploy resource and this is something we're looking at to see if it makes sense," Azzopardi said.

Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat who sponsors legislation merging the police forces, believes it would strengthen the park police and address their high turnover rates.

"It would also create efficiencies and improvements by sharing trainings, equipment and more," Gounardes said.

It's those efficiencies, as well as reduced costs associated with replacing officers, that would make a merger beneficial to state taxpayers, according to the PBA of NYS. The potential savings would largely come from reduced academy classes, which they claim would offset the costs associated with paying higher benefits

A merger could be good or bad for the State Police, depending on how it's handled, according to the troopers' union. A successful integration, Mungeer said, would include giving the State Police the funds to assume new responsibilities and officers.

"From day one, the governor has preached consolidation of services," he said. "With that in mind, we'll support the governor if this is his goal."

The State Police agency has absorbed other law enforcement officers in the past, including the Parkway Police on Long Island in 1980 and the Capitol police in 1997.

"We're not reinventing the wheel," Mungeer said.

Manuel Vilar, a PBA of NYS board member and Park police sergeant, said the parks officers don't have the resources to adequately meet all their responsibilities at once.

"When there is a major event in one area of the state, they're stripping down other areas of the state and leaving them with little to no coverage," Vilar said.

A merger wouldn't necessarily address staffing concerns at the parks, but it would ensure access to a larger pool of officers, especially during periods of peak demand.

Vilar also said it made sense to have the officers working under an agency solely dedicated solely to policing.

In recent years, the officers with the two police forces have begun to work more closely together, including in emergencies and for major events, such as the ongoing New York State Fair in Syracuse.

Bipartisan legislation was overwhelming approved this spring that would address one of the concerns of Park police officers by providing them - as well as Environmental Conservation officers and forest rangers - the same accidental disability benefits as State Police officers.

The legislation has yet to be sent to the governor for his signature.

Cuomo vetoed a comparable measure last year because it would mean a one-time payment of $2.2 million and an additional $350,000 in recurring costs. He also contended in his veto message that improved disability rights "could have been negotiated as part of the collective bargaining process."