Wellsville: Town Supervisor wants to create police department - Buffalo man would lead the force

Police officer Anthony Bartucca

The town of Wellsville is considering creating a police department. Currently, police services in Wellsville outside the village are provided by state police and the sheriff's department. The last time the town considered ramping up police services, in the late 1990's, the outcome was not pleasant.
Wednesday night, town supervisor Shad Alsworth dropped a bombshell when he announced he wanted to create a town police department. That department, if approved, would consist of Anthony Bartucca of Buffalo. The former village of Lyons police officer presented a lengthy overview of what he could provide. Law enforcement..."it's my passion," Bartucca told the council. When the Lyons police department closed, Bartucca bought as much as he could, to include a fully equipped police vehicle. In addition, he has a police horse and two certified police dogs. If the town approves the deal, he would donate all the equipment to the town. "It would be the cheapest police department in America," he said...noting that his donation would be worth about $150,000. The primary focus of Bartucca's effort would revolve around narcotics. His dogs are trained in that area and the Buffalo man has extensive credentials. Town supervisor Shad Alsworth said "we have a serious drug problem in Wellsville." He added, "we have a great opportunity to take a serious stance on the drug epidemic." In 2015, there were six opioid deaths in Allegany County. In the first three months of 2017, 17 people were saved by the administration of Narcan, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses.
Bartucca's law enforcement career began in December 1990. He began K9 services in 2006. His 'day' job involves landscaping. He continues to remain a certified police officer.
Board member Patty Graves said " I would not be against exploring this." She added, "we should have a public hearing on this." Councilman Dar Fanton was around the last time the issue of town police services was raised. He said "it will be interesting to see what the public has to say...we'll see."
Alsworth said it would be a part time department and acknowledged that insurance would cost around $10,000 a year.
While the main focus was on drug interdiction, it was noted that this would be a full service police department to include commercial vehicle enforcement. Several questions remain, for example:

• what would the salary be
• where would the department be housed, i.e. when an arrest is made, where are they processed.
• what type of schedule would the department have

Bartucca and Alsworth both spoke passionately about this plan...and both understand this isn't a slam dunk decision. It is, however, an opportunity...pennies on the dollar as far as start up costs. But, the town has a strange reaction to law enforcement. In the 1990's, one of the biggest issues was "we don't want speed traps and daytime patrols."
The recently appointed town supervisor couldn't have picked a more controversial topic. That's a good thing...he has belief's and he acts. While two board members spoke, two others remained silent. Perhaps they were just evaluating the dialogue. Alsworth says he spoke with Sheriff Rick Whitney, who reportedly fully supports the creation of the police department and narcotics services. The village is neutral and the District Attorney hasn't been spoken with yet.
Several towns in Allegany County do maintain part time police departments. They haven't destroyed budgets, however, policing in the town of Wellsville has always been a challenge. One thing is clear, if history repeats itself, this issue will be the talk of the town!