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RESOLUTION
BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT COLLINS-BELLAMY, MAJORITY LEADER RUBBO, MAJORITY WHIP NORMAN, MINORITY LEADER BREEN, COUNCILMEMBERS, PINEDA-ISAAC, DIAZ AND HODGES:
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A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YONKERS CALLING UPON GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL TO SIGN A.10414/S.9356, ESTABLISHING A TWENTY-FIVE YEAR RETIREMENT PROGRAM FOR NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WATER SUPPLY POLICE
WHEREAS, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Water Supply Police (“DEP Police”) are sworn law enforcement officers responsible for protecting New York City’s water supply, watershed lands, reservoirs, aqueducts, critical infrastructure and the communities throughout the watershed; and
WHEREAS, the responsibilities and jurisdiction of DEP Police extend well beyond the geographic boundaries of New York City and throughout communities in the Hudson Valley and Catskill regions, including Westchester County and the City of Yonkers; and
WHEREAS, the City of Yonkers obtains its drinking water from the New York City Water Supply System, with water originating primarily in the Catskill and Delaware watershed systems and traveling through infrastructure owned and operated by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection; and
WHEREAS, Hillview Reservoir, a critical component of the New York City Water Supply System, is physically located within the City of Yonkers and serves as a terminal and balancing reservoir for water conveyed through the Catskill and Delaware systems; and
WHEREAS, the relationship between Hillview Reservoir and the City of Yonkers is not merely geographic, as the Yonkers water system contains entry points associated with the Hillview Low Service and Hillview High Service systems, and during certain aqueduct maintenance operations the New York City Department of Environmental Protection may back-feed water from Hillview Reservoir into the lower Catskill Aqueduct, which serves as a source of drinking water for the City of Yonkers; and
WHEREAS, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police maintains its 7th Precinct, known as the Hillview Precinct, at Hillview Reservoir in the City of Yonkers, where DEP Police Officers are charged with protecting this critical water-supply infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, the protection of Hillview Reservoir and the broader New York City water-supply infrastructure therefore have a direct and significant connection to the City of Yonkers, its residents and its municipal water system; and
WHEREAS, DEP Police Officers perform an important public-safety function and are entrusted with protecting infrastructure upon which millions of New Yorkers, including residents of communities throughout Westchester County, depend for a safe and reliable water supply; and
WHEREAS, despite performing sworn law-enforcement duties, DEP Water Supply Police currently participate in retirement programs within the New York City Employees’ Retirement System that differ from the service-based retirement programs traditionally available to many other uniformed law-enforcement personnel; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Police Benevolent Association (“EPBA”), representing DEP Police Officers, has advocated for the establishment of a twenty-five year retirement program to provide its members with greater retirement parity and a retirement structure that more appropriately recognizes the responsibilities, risks and physical demands associated with a career in law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, the current retirement structure has contributed to challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified and experienced DEP Police Officers, including the potential loss of trained personnel to other law-enforcement agencies offering service-based retirement benefits; and
WHEREAS, according to the Environmental Police Benevolent Association, DEP Police currently face a vacancy rate of approximately twenty-four percent, further demonstrating the importance of recruiting and retaining qualified officers capable of protecting New York’s water-supply infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, A.10414/S.9356 would establish twenty-five year retirement programs for eligible members of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System employed as Water Supply Police and would provide a service retirement benefit upon completion of twenty-five years of credited service, subject to the terms and requirements of the legislation; and
WHEREAS, the proposed legislation would provide eligible participants a retirement benefit equal to fifty percent of final average salary for the first twenty-five years of credited service, with additional benefits for certain additional credited service as provided by law; and
WHEREAS, establishing a twenty-five year retirement program would provide DEP Police Officers with greater retirement parity, recognize the unique physical and mental demands associated with police service, and strengthen the Department’s ability to recruit and retain experienced law-enforcement professionals; and
WHEREAS, A.10414/S.9356 has been passed by both houses of the New York State Legislature and presently awaits the next step in the enactment process; and
WHEREAS, maintaining a well-trained, experienced and adequately staffed DEP Police force is particularly important to the City of Yonkers, which is home to Hillview Reservoir and the DEP Police Hillview Precinct and whose municipal water system is interconnected with infrastructure protected by these officers;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Yonkers hereby expresses its strong support for A.10414/S.9356 and for the establishment of a twenty-five year retirement program for eligible New York City Department of Environmental Protection Water Supply Police Officers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Yonkers respectfully calls upon Governor Kathy Hochul to sign A.10414/S.9356 upon its presentation to her, thereby providing DEP Water Supply Police Officers with a service-based retirement program that promotes greater parity with other law-enforcement personnel and strengthens the Department’s ability to recruit and retain experienced officers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council recognizes the particular importance of DEP Police service to the City of Yonkers, including the protection of Hillview Reservoir, the DEP Hillview Police Precinct and water-supply infrastructure directly connected to the City and its residents; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council recognizes and commends the men and women of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Water Supply Police for their continued service in protecting New York’s water supply, critical infrastructure and communities throughout the watershed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this Resolution shall be transmitted to the Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York; the sponsors of A.10414 and S.9356; the New York City Department of Environmental Protection; and the Environmental Police Benevolent Association.
This Resolution shall take effect immediately.