An open letter to our city council members:

March 30, 2021

To the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs:

Our city has been advocating for a meaningful Civilian Review Board (CRB) for over a decade. Now the Police Reform Task Force has specified that one be created as part of its comprehensive 50 point plan to improve how our community is policed.

During the last city council meeting on March 23, the Saratoga Springs City Attorney opined that now is not the time, because implementing a CRB raises legal issues that merit further study. In the City Attorney's own words:

"If on the other hand we do want a civilian review board that has authority over matters related to discipline, or potential discipline of police officers, then we will almost certainly need to amend our city charter. Because the powers which would be afforded to a Civilian Review Board are currently afforded to an elected official, any amendment to the city charter would likely be subject to a mandatory referendum under Section 23 of the Municipal Home Rule Law."

There is one huge flaw with that assertion: the CRB as envisioned by the 50 point plan does not seek authority over matters related to discipline or potential discipline. That authority remains by design in the hands of the Commissioner of Public Safety.

Thus implementing the plan's CRB does not trigger the requirements for a referendum. The City Attorney referred to Section 23 f., which states that a referendum is required if a new local law "Abolishes, transfers or curtails any power of an elective officer."

The Commissioner of Public Safety's powers with respect to the police department are enumerated in the city charter as follows:

Title 6 The Commissioner of Public Safety
A. Police Department. The Commissioner of Public Safety shall have jurisdiction, supervision, and control of the governance, administration, disposition, operation, and discipline of the Police Department and its officers in accordance with Section 6.1 of this Charter.

6.1 Police Department.
The Police Department of the City of Saratoga Springs shall be under the general control and management of the Commissioner of Public Safety. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Public Safety to ensure that the Police Department preserves peace and good order; enforces the laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations of the City, New York State and the United States; and performs other duties the Council shall prescribe.

The Task Force plan specifically avoids any abrogation of these powers. Furthermore, the city council is empowered to prescribe “other duties” the police department must perform, such as cooperating with a new Civilian Review Board. Under the plan's CRB, the Commissioner remains solely in charge of discipline of the police department, with the CRB offering only advisory recommendations:

Thereafter the Board, by majority vote, shall set forth its Conclusions with regard to the factual record and shall make an advisory recommendation to the Commissioner of Public Safety with regard to the disposition of the complaint. The Conclusions and Recommendations shall be made available to the public.

While the CRB operates at arm's length from the Department, its overall purpose is to enhance the efficiency of the Department’s operation by providing assurance to the public, through its oversight of the Department, that it operates in a fair and just manner.

Note that the CRB's conclusions and recommendation can serve as an independent and public exoneration for officers, as well as build trust in our community that such an exoneration is warranted. If a CRB had investigated the case of Darryl Mount, his family and our community would have had a public accounting of what happened that night. Instead, we're left with Chief Veitch's admission under oath that he misled a reporter and the public, and that there was no investigation.

Our city charter says nothing about the Commissioner of Public Safety having exclusive investigatory powers over potential police misconduct or complaints, which of course would run afoul of any number of laws. Clearly local, state, and federal prosecuting attorneys can also investigate any police action or inaction, as could our new Civilian Review Board.

Our City Attorney made a further claim that a new CRB could run afoul of the current Police Benevolent Association (PBA) contract with the City of Saratoga Springs. He cited this conflict without any basis in fact to bolster his case for further study rather than acting now. The PBA contract states in Article V. C:

The wide-ranging powers and duties given to the Department and its Members involve them in all manner of contacts and relationships with the public. Out of the contacts may come questions concerning the actions of Members of the Department. These questions often require immediate investigation by superior Officers designated by the Police Chief or the Commissioner of Public Safety. In an effort to ensure that these investigations [our emphasis] are conducted in a manner which is conducive to good order and discipline the following rules are hereby adopted.

The contract then lists seven rules that govern internal investigations "by superior Officers designated by the Police Chief or the Commissioner of Public Safety." The contract specifically references "these investigations", rather than "all investigations," "any investigations," "investigations conducted by any person or entity authorized by City of Saratoga Springs," or simply "investigations."

The PBA contract language as written only speaks to internal investigations at the behest of the Police Chief or the Commissioner of Public Safety. The contract is completely silent on the conduct and ground rules for any other type of investigation, such as ones performed by a newly formed CRB. Thus the city council is free to adopt the CRB plan as specified in Appendix G of the 50 point plan.

If the city council wishes to go further once the CRB is established, for example to empower the CRB to directly discipline officers as they now can in Albany, then we may in fact need to amend the charter through a public referendum. Until then, there are no substantive legal issues for the city council to hide behind if they fail to immediately enact a CRB as required by the task force plan.

We urge the City Council to have the courage to adopt and implement the complete 50 point plan as required by Executive Order 203. To those city council members who seek delay, further study, or more excuses to avoid necessary, beneficial change, we offer the words of Martin Luther King:

For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

Sincerely,

Kristen Dart
Camille Daniels
Terry Diggory
Thomas Dragonette
Molly Dunn
Daesha Devón Harris
Adam Tinkle
Winston Grady-Willis
John Schroeder
Andrew Sephus

MLK Saratoga
Black Lives Matter Saratoga