ELDRED, NY — The cost of law enforcement in Highland has become a point of dispute. 

Former constable Marc Anthony has sued the town for dissolving the department, among other complaints. He said the town denied him the legal protections he would have had if the town had simply fired him. 

The town said it had valid reasons to dissolve the department, including its high costs and the results of a misconduct investigation focused on Anthony. 

Both Anthony and the defendants have submitted their papers to the court. From there, the judge will either issue a ruling based on the papers or, if he has questions, schedule a hearing, said Anthony’s attorney, Stacey Van Malden. 

Budgeted spending

Over the past three years, the town budgeted the following for law enforcement services:

• 2023: $100,000 for sheriff’s department services
• 2022: $104,500 for the constables department
• 2021: $101,192.50 for the constables department

Anthony claims the town spent less than it budgeted on its constables. Open Book New York, a website that provides information from the New York State Comptroller’s office, reports that the Town of Highland spent the following for law enforcement while it had a constabulary:

• 2022: $68,608 for the constables department
• 2021: $66,664 for the constables department

Van Malden pointed to that information as reflective of the town’s actual expenses. Budgeting a certain amount and spending that amount are two different things, she says. 

Disputed math

Deputy town supervisor Kaitlin Haas disputed these numbers. She said her information comes from town expenses as reported by the bookkeeper and audited by the firm Cooper Arias. 

That information indicates the town spent $109,389.70 on salaries, equipment and other costs in 2021, said Haas. “They never underspent their budget,” she said.

The Open Book New York information for 2022 and 2021 does not include the constabulary’s equipment costs. In 2019, the last year equipment costs are available, the town spent $111,152 on its constables, according to Open Book New York. 

The amount the town is spending for the sheriff’s services is also disputed. 

Van Malden pointed to the $100,000 budgeted for the sheriff’s department as higher than the amount previously budgeted for the constables. 

The $100,000 figure is a cap, not an expectation, said Haas. She said the town paid the sheriff’s department $38,000 for the first half of the year, and that it does not have to pay the same equipment or liability costs it paid for the constables. 

The sheriff’s department under the agreement has a dedicated patrol car in Highland during the same hours the constables were on duty. 

For Anthony’s camp, the level of service isn’t equivalent. 

“Even if you’ve spent a dollar—in my very limited opinion—you’re paying for things you’re already getting” because the sheriff’s office already covers all of Sullivan County, said Van Malden.

For Haas, the service to the town is equivalent or improved with the sheriff’s deputies patroling. The constables incurred liability to the town because they were not subject to the same statewide police reforms or state-level oversight as the sheriff’s department. 

With the sheriff’s department, the town is getting “professional law enforcement,” she said, with “no liability.”

For more about about the lawsuit, click here.