Rye fire, police could become one agency

[SOUSGT 357]

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/rye-city/2016/06/06/rye-public-safety-department/85299246/

RYE CITY - The city may create a single Public Safety Department for police and firefighters in an effort to address ongoing fire staffing issues and to provide a more cohesive approach to emergency services.

The idea behind the move, City Manager Marcus Serrano said, is to create a direct chain of command by appointing a paid public safety commissioner to set policy and establish uniform procedures for police officers and both paid and volunteer firefighters. Under the proposed law, the public safety commissioner would appoint paid fire officers. The volunteers would still elect their own chief, assistant chiefs and other officers, but their choices would be subject to the commissioner's approval. The volunteer chief and assistants would work with the career officers, and all would report directly to the commissioner. 

 

[AFS1970 504]

I no more want to see the police in charge of the fire department than fire in charge of policing. Like it or not when a position of this is created, the likely appointee will come from one of the existing services, that means experience in one and not the other and probably some sort of bias.