Mayor Barlow launches Oswego’s Police Reinvention Collaborative
Mayor Billy Barlow announced today the City of Oswego is beginning the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, as directed by a June 12th Executive Order #203 from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, requiring each local government in the state to adopt a police reform plan by April 2021, or risk losing state aid funding.
Mayor Barlow outlined the process, setting the schedule for his administration to complete the requirements and appointing a local committee to work with the Oswego Police Department on developing a plan. Barlow said the City of Oswego has been working on different concepts and directions since early summer and will forward a preliminary draft to the newly appointed committee to start the process. The committee will review the draft, provide feedback, additional ideas, and work with Mayor Barlow and Chief of Police Phil Cady to publish a draft plan for public review. Mayor Barlow said he will host a public forum, inviting the public to hear and review the proposed plan to inject public feedback, opinions and ideas during the forum. Following the forum, the final plan will be revealed and subject to city committee consideration, another public hearing and a final vote of adoption by the Oswego Common Council.
Oswego Policing Committee
Phil Cady – Chief of Oswego Police Department
Dr. Rodmon King – SUNY Oswego Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Greg Oakes – Oswego County District Attorney
Daun Whittaker – Director, Victory Transformation
Eric Bresee – Executive Director, Farnham Family Services
Paul Stewart – Executive Director, Oswego Renaissance Association
“The Oswego Police Department is a well-respected, highly trusted, accredited certified agency protecting our city and playing a key role in moving our community forward. Our theme throughout this process will be to develop ways to bring our police officers closer to our community to build better relationships and improve communication with those we serve and protect,” said Mayor Billy Barlow. “We plan to administer a fully transparent process, providing the public with multiple opportunities to provide input and we intend to build upon the good work our police department performs on a daily basis throughout our community,” Barlow said.
Mayor Barlow said he plans to hold the first public forum at 6:30pm on December 16th at the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake Street. The final plan will be brought to the Common Council for approval in January before being submitted to New York State.
