To the editor:

Sadly, time is running out for a dedicated, lifelong community member to replace the incumbent town of Tupper Lake Supervisor, Rickey Dattola, in the fall general election, but it’s not impossible. Please get in touch with me anytime if you are considering the opportunity to lead your community into the future.

In an effort to raise concerns about the state of Tupper Lake town and village government and to encourage new people to get involved and make a difference, I continue this week making the case to replace the town supervisor.

Tupper Lake Police Department: Town Supervisor, Rickey Dattola led the effort to defund the town’s financial support for the Tupper Lake Police Department (TLPD), shortly after taking office, yet he and every member of the town board expect TLPD to respond to emergencies within the town, for free, leaving the entire financial burden to the taxpayers of the village of Tupper Lake. Can you even imagine what logic, or lack thereof, is behind the short-sighted ideology that the entire Tupper Lake community does not need a well-trained, efficiently funded local police department? My response to that is “NO.” I cannot imagine it, nor do I have any idea how the town supervisor and the town board justify this. None of them ever speaks of it unless they are conducting a public opinion poll in a back office, back room, or bar room, but never in a public forum.

Even after a heavily armed tactical team was required in our streets last spring, Rickey Dattola never spoke, never sought to inform the public of what occurred, never sought to reassure the public that public safety was restored and never sought to determine if it was time to make a change to the town’s stance on funding for TLPD. The town supervisor has said nothing, and he continues to do nothing. Under any construct, this is not leadership; it is the exact opposite.

In my opinion, the town supervisor’s deliberate action to de-fund the town’s contribution to TLPD began a potentially unstoppable downward spiral that could lead to the complete dissolution of TLPD. The loss of top-quality patrol officers, cessation of a highly effective School Resource Officer Program, the discontinuance of the Narcotic K9 asset, and the inability to attract new officers are four lethal blows that are directly attributed to the town supervisor and town board’s failure to accept their most important funding and policy responsibility to the Tupper Lake community, public safety and security.

Solutions: The town board must work swiftly to:

1. Adequately fund the Tupper Lake Police Department in full partnership with the village.

2. Restore the police department/police chief-supported SRO program to TLCSD.

3. Appoint a public safety committee charged with ensuring public safety challenges are solved.

4. Work to transition responsibility for the TLPD to the town of Tupper Lake in FY2027.

Stephen Jellie

Tupper Lake business owner