Originally posted by Linda_D
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the consolidation of the village and town police departments in Lancaster actually result in higher costs than if the two departments had operated separately? I seem to remember lots of discussion of this a while ago.
Yup, it sure did, but rather that will be the case in the long term can't be determined.

Some officers retired, rather than consolidate, and that ended up costing more than initial estimates.

Plus, the Lancaster Town Board used the consolidation as an excuse to build a state-of-art new headquarters -- and that will cost plenty down the road too.

At the end of the day, though, the village of lancaster did not have to raise taxes, because it had gotten rid of its police department.

Meanwhile, taxes went way up while the Town of Lancaster figured out to incorporate its new village employees.

I think it will take at least a decade to figure out if, in the end, the consolidation saves money.