The Village of Mineola held its second hearing to explore the possibility of starting a police force. As part of the hearing, area mayors from communities that have their own police forces testified. The common theme was that having a police force is an expensive proposition but none of the mayors who testified including Eugene Scarpato of Lynbrook, Eugene Murray of Rockville Centre, Anthony Panzarella of Malverne and Phil Guarnieri of Floral Park would give up their department.

"If I was to say let's do away with [Lynbook's police force] and see what the county would offer us, I think I would be tarred and feathered and run out of the village by the residents," said Scarpato, the mayor of Lynbrook, which has 46 policemen including detective squads and other specially assigned officers with five cars patrolling at all times. But, said Scarpato, "It's expensive. I can't tell you it's not. It's probably a third of my budget."

All of the mayors agreed that having a police force is expensive (Lynbrook spends about $9.5 million on its force), but the public doesn't mind spending the money because the police cars always stay within their respective villages and problem areas unique to each village can be targeted.

"I'm not going to tell you we don't have any crime or action. We do. But they think twice before coming into a village that has its own police force," said Scarpato.

Rockville Centre has a police force comprised of 52 officers, a commissioner, three lieutenants and eight sergeants. "We're very proud of our force. The police department responds very rapidly," said Mayor Murray of Rockville Centre, which has five patrol cars and a sergeant in an unmarked car on duty at all times.

The Village of Malverne is quite different from Mineola in that approximately 90 percent is residential. According to Mayor Panzarella, the police budget amounted to just over $3 million of the total $11.9 million Malverne 2005-2006 budget. The Malverne police force consists of 24 police officers, a chief, two lieutenants and four sergeants.

"Having a police department makes Malverne what it is," said Panzarella. "There's no substitute for local control. I could be walking and see something that's not right. I will call headquarters and within 30 to 60 seconds, the police are there taking care of the problem. I can't imagine that happening if I called the county and not because the county would have problems doing that. It's that they're covering a much wider area," he said.

Mayor Guarnieri of Floral Park said the community's police force has been a tremendous benefit to the village. The Floral Park police force, according to Guarnieri, gives the village greater visibility. "There are more cars on patrol and we believe that to be a deterrent to crime," he said. "Police officers in the village come to know the residents and merchants. They are more in tune with the needs. The village police officers tend to understand the importance of quality of life issues within the village."

Guarnieri said there are some downsides to having a police force, namely its expense. Floral Park, which has 25 officers, six sergeants, two lieutenants, two detectives and a commissioner, pays $4.3 million for its police force, which is approximately 35 percent of its budget. The village must also deal with the police union and binding arbitration, Guarnieri said. "Binding arbitration often leads to lucrative contracts. It's very difficult to control a budget if you don't have controls over salaries," he added. "At the same time, the residents are extremely supportive of our police department."