Montgomery County considers consolidation

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, N.Y. (WRGB) - Montgomery County got just under $150,000 from the state to take a closer look at restructuring the way local governments provide services in the county.

"There's a lot more research that needs to be done before I can make a decision on what needs to be done,” says Montgomery County executive Matthew Ossenfort.

Ossenfort says the study would look at shrinking the number of local town and village courts on the county's west side into one central court.

Ossenfort says a central court could be more secure.

"We were just proposing housing them into one facility that is compliant with state standards as it related to court security," he said.

Ossenfort says his top priority with this study is to improve the county’s IT infrastructure and electronic records management.

The study also looks at having the sheriff's office absorb the Canajoharie and Fort Plain police departments.

Fort Plain Police Chief Ryan Austin oversees 13 officers. He's worried that being absorbed into the sheriff's office could hurt response times.

"We're here. We respond very quickly. The sheriff's office might provide a car for the western of Montgomery County, but that doesn't mean they're going to be inside the village,” Austin said.

He's also concerned about the cost, since he says the sheriff’s office pays more than his department.

The study also looks at the town of Minden absorbing the town of Fort Plain. Fort Plain Village Mayor Tom Quakenbush says he won't support any move that lowers the amount of local services that taxpayers expect. But he is open to seeing if the study looking can save taxpayer money.

The study should start within a few weeks. Ossenfort says enacting consolidation must be approved at the local level.