Mt. Kisco Police Merger Critic Retires From Lieutenant’s Post
A 30-year Mount Kisco police veteran who was a vocal critic of the village’s move to consolidate its police services with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, retired from his position last Thursday.
Lt. Louis Terlizzi submitted his retirement letter to Interim Village Manager Jerry Faiella and the village board on July 8. His final day in uniform was July 16. He was one of 24 former Mount Kisco police officers absorbed into the county force on June 1 with their current rank after village and county officials approved the merger.
In his letter to village officials, Terlizzi said he made his decision “with deep sorrow and under extreme duress…due to the unprecedented actions taken by both the current Mount Kisco Village Board and various Westchester County Government Officials.”
Terlizzi told The Examiner he needed to make his decision about whether to retire by July 16. Under the negotiated terms of the agreement, the former village officers had 30 days from the signing of the consolidation agreement to decide whether they would stay on or retire and maintain their retirement benefits that they had accrued. The signing officially took place on June 16.
Terlizzi said that under terms of the merger, if the former village cops failed to work for the county for five years they would lose their health insurance in retirement.
In an interview, Terlizzi continued to criticize consolidation, charging that “the officers had enough” after the village failed to negotiate a new contract for the past five years. While he heard no one say that was done intentionally in hopes of encouraging a merger, Terlizzi said that to him “it appeared to be the case.”
The consolidation has already led to a loss of services, Terlizzi claimed, because police headquarters on Green Street is no longer open around the clock to the public.
“You don’t have that personal attention we used to provide,” Terlizzi said.
Mayor Michael Cindrich did not respond to Terlizzi’s comments directly but wished him well in his future endeavors.
“I was instrumental in promoting Lou from sergeant to lieutenant,” Cindrich said. “He made a personal choice on retiring and I wish him and his family well.”
In the weeks preceding the June 1 merger, Terlizzi and his wife, Kim, strongly opposed the move publicly. The couple said there should have been a public hearing and a referendum, rather than effectively eliminating the village force.
Village officials countered that a hearing and referendum were not required because Mount Kisco was merging, not dissolving, its department.
