“This contract dispute comes down to priorities. The men and women who put on the uniform every day to protect our families and communities deserve to know that their government has their backs.

As Yorktown town supervisor, I successfully negotiated a contract with our PBA, invested in our police department and made public safety a priority. The result was a community that was recognized as the safest small town in America. I know firsthand that you can support your police officers, protect taxpayers and deliver results.

We have taken that same approach in Albany. When law enforcement asked us to address longstanding Tier 5 and Tier 6 pension issues that were hurting recruitment and retention, we acted and delivered meaningful reforms.

That's why it is unacceptable for Westchester County to allow its police contract to remain unresolved for nearly three years while at the same time threatening essential public-safety programs like the one that authorizes school resource officers to serve in the Lakeland Central School District. Earlier this year, I stood with Lakeland families and local officials to fight to preserve those officers in our schools. We should be strengthening these partnerships, not putting them in jeopardy.

Our police officers have done their job. The state has done its job. It is a shame Westchester County has proven unable to do the same.”