In a scenario where no one is happy and both sides agree that relations are strained, the Town of Tonawanda Police Club said the Taylor Law violation letters being sent out this week will only aggravate the rank-and-file members of the town’s police force.
Yet, Joseph Emminger, Town of Tonawanda supervisor, said the letters are mandated and part of the process of setting up a series of hearings before the state’s Public Employees Relations Board (PERB).
At issue is the Town of Tonawanda Police Club’s dissatisfaction with current Police Chief James Stauffiger and the town board’s decision to reprimand a police officer concerning allegations connected to a drug raid and missing evidence. The police officer resigned in January.
Emminger said he understands the situation but still feels it needs to be addressed.
“We’re not the cause of this, okay? The town board, the supervisor, and the chief of police are not the cause of this. We are just following the law and doing what we are mandated to do by statute,” Emminger said.
Between mid-January and mid-February, Tonawanda police wrote 123 traffic violation tickets. Last year, during the same period, they wrote 550 tickets, and in 2023, the town police wrote 650 tickets.
Emminger believes the ticket slowdown is a direct violation of the state’s Taylor Law that prohibits public sector employees from striking or taking any strike-related action.
“Go by the facts and what we're presenting in this PERB document," he said. "What will happen when they do their hearing, the facts will come out. And if we're wrong, I'll be the first to admit we're wrong, but I think the numbers speak for themselves."
The letters have drawn criticism from the Town of Tonawanda Police Club. In an emailed statement, the club said the charges “are based on an erroneous and flawed investigation.”
“The PERB charges filed against our union only prove one thing: That the town supervisor (Emminger) is more interested in needlessly wasting taxpayers’ money on retaliatory witch hunts that only seek to persecute our essential workforce," union representatives wrote.
Emminger said he does not want any officers fired, but they may face fines. Hearings could start later this spring, or early summer.
