When residents go to the polls on Tuesday, Dec. 5 to vote on whether Mineola should have its own police department, the only polling place will be the community center of Mineola Village Hall, 155 Washington Avenue. Polls will open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You must be a registered voter of Mineola.

Applications for absentee ballots are available for residents who aren't able to go to the polls and vote. Applications to receive an absentee ballot by mail are due in the village clerk's office by Friday. If not, you can complete an absentee ballot and receive an absentee ballot in-person at the village clerk's office, located on the second floor of village hall, at any time on or before Dec. 4. All absentee ballots are due to the village clerk's office on or before Dec. 4.

Residents will be voting on whether they want to continue to be patrolled by the Nassau County 3rd Precinct or whether they want the village to establish its own police department.

In 2006, taxpayers of Mineola paid $6,730,886.10 in taxes for the Nassau Police district. If the referendum were to pass, residents would no longer pay that amount, but instead would fund the police department through the village budget. The Mineola Police Task Force estimates that it would cost, at a worst case scenario, $6,512,787.54 for 2008.

While the operation report that was recently mailed to residents' homes states "a Mineola Police Department can provide better coverage and be more cost-effective," one man who disagrees is the current commanding office of the Nassau County 3rd Precinct, Inspector Robert Turk.

"Residents of Mineola deserve to have up-to-date and accurate information," said Turk, adding that he believes the operational report has some inaccuracies.

Turk and Nassau Police Commissioner James Lawrence believe the operational report doesn't provide for enough police officers to provide adequate coverage to the village.

The report claims that a Mineola Village Police Department can assign five to seven police officers and a patrol supervisor to the village at all times. Turk said the task force's report doesn't account for enough officers to provide the coverage that it talks about.

The operational report calls for:

1 Commissioner

2 Lieutenants

6 Sergeants

28 Police Officers

Mineola has an area of 1.9 square miles and had a population of 19,233 in 2000.

By comparison, the personnel for some of the other village police departments are as follows:

Village of Lynbrook

1 Chief

4 Lieutenants

6 Sergeants

48 Police Officers

1 Inspector

Lynbrook has an area of two square miles and had a population of 19,911 in 2000.

Village of Rockville Centre

1 Commissioner

4 Lieutenants

8 Sergeants

36 Police Officers

3 Detectives

Rockville Centre has an area of 3.3 square miles and had a population of 24,568 in 2000.

Village of Floral Park

1 Commissioner

2 Lieutenants

6 Sergeants

25 Police Officers

2 Detectives

Floral Park has an area of 1.4 square miles and had a population of 15,967 in 2000.

Currently, the 3rd Precinct provides car 311 and car 306 to Mineola. Cars 310 and 312 cover Mineola as well as neighboring communities; however, Turk said those cars answer the majority of their calls in Mineola. In addition, the 3rd Precinct has a Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) officer assigned to Mineola in officer John Larson.

Mineola Mayor Jack M. Martins presented the idea of looking into the village establishing its own police department because he felt the 3rd Precinct didn't dedicate enough personnel to Mineola to adequately patrol the village and address quality of life issues.

Deputy Mayor Larry Werther, who has been a proponent of a Mineola police force, believes it's ironic that the Nassau Police Department commissioner and inspector believe that the operational report doesn't account for enough officers because the basis for looking into a village police came about because of the number of officers that county was providing the village. "If they're saying that four to seven officers on the street [with a Mineola police force] at all times is understaffing us, then what do they call what they're giving us," he said.

Turk, however, believes the report doesn't account for enough officers to provide four to seven officers on the streets at all times and questions what would happen, if the village established its own police force, if there were two or three incidents that required police response happening at the same time. Turk said the 3rd Precinct has the resources to bring other cars into Mineola if need be.

Turk said the Nassau Police 3rd Precinct can respond to quality of life issues and urges residents to call 911 and alert police if they are witnesses to a problem.

Still, proponents of a village police force believe the village would be better served with having its own officers dedicated solely to the village and can concentrate on problems specific to Mineola.

Walter Hobbs, a 56-year resident of Mineola, said he is reading the report and hasn't made up his mind whether he will vote for a village department. "I see the benefits of it [a Mineola police force] in protection and such. The only thing is if it gets too expensive, what do you do?" he said.

Hobbs, though, applauds Mayor Martins for giving the residents of the village a choice.

On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the residents will make that choice.