Latest news with #Emminger
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Town of Tonawanda police officers receive fines for alleged strike
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — More than half of the Town of Tonawanda's police force returned from shifts this week to find letters of fines from Town Supervisor Joe Emminger. The fines, officials said, stem from the officers' alleged participation in what is being described by town leadership as an 'illegal ticketing strike.' A total of 44 officers received letters outlining the financial penalties, which the town claims are necessary in response to the alleged 15-day work slowdown. According to the letters, officers will be fined the equivalent of two hours of pay for each day they participated — which could amount to hundreds of dollars per officer. 'Our officers probably average about $50 an hour,' said Emminger. 'So multiply that by two, times the number of days they participated — this adds up.' The fines will be deducted gradually from the officers' paychecks over the coming months. While town officials defended the action as a necessary step toward resolving ongoing tensions, the Town of Tonawanda Police Club has strongly pushed back. Though declining an on-camera interview, Police Club President Andy Thompson released a statement accusing the town of unfair treatment. 'The town is on a witch hunt to persecute its own police force — paid for by you, the taxpayers,' Thompson said. He also said that during the period in question, officers continued responding to a 40% increase in calls during severe winter weather, along with many regular patrol officers temporarily unavailable due to mandatory training — leaving fewer officers available to write tickets. Emminger acknowledged the training, but noted that probationary officers continued issuing citations throughout the three-week period. Adding fuel to the controversy, Thompson claimed that Emminger himself was not honest about Thompson's ticketing record — alleging that despite making a DUI arrest and issuing citations on February 1, he is still facing charges related to that day. Emminger responded: 'A lot of those DWIs, from what I'm told, were called in by other parties. They did not initiate any tickets they didn't have to.' The letters and looming fines have only deepened the rift between town leadership and the police union. Emminger emphasized the need for dialogue and the need to resolve the issue quickly. 'Eventually, we've got to get to where we are sitting down across the table from each other, and there must be some give and take on both sides,' said Emminger. Officers have 20 days to appeal the fines, and Emminger expects that most, if not all, will pursue that route. Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Town of Tonawanda Board unanimously votes to take legal action against police union
KENMORE, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Town of Tonawanda Board unanimously voted Monday night to hire a law firm to bring charges against the police union, known as the Town of Tonawanda Police Club, following its allegations of police officers participating in an illegal strike that started last month. The board is alleging that the town's police officers ignored violations or wrote fewer tickets as part of an three-week strike, which it said violated the state's Taylor Law. Members of the union, who were present at the meeting, said the accusations are baseless. 'How can our members go to work every day and focus on fighting crime when our employers don't have our back?' said Phil McDonald, the vice president of the Town of Tonawanda Police Club. According to Town Supervisor Joe Emminger, the strike began in mid-January. 'Our preliminary investigation did show that they were numerous officers who had not written any tickets over a three-week period,' Emminger said. Over 100 people attended the board meeting in solidarity with the police union, including members of unions from the Erie and Niagara County Sheriffs, Buffalo, Amherst, the city of Tonawanda and Lockport. 'Over the three-week period of the alleged strike, police officers conducted the following: Seven DWI arrests were made, 162 parking tickets were issued and 166 traffic tickets were issued,' McDonald said. Officials believe the job action was the police union's response to an officer being disciplined in mid-January. That officer has since resigned. The town said state law requires them to investigate and file a report within 60 days of the job action. 'What happens if somebody T-bones a car during this work stoppage to slow down the strike and an attorney finds out that our police haven't been writing tickets for the last three weeks?' Emminger said. The town alleged during that three-week period, over 50 percent of the police force issued zero tickets combined. If proven true, Emminger said any officer who participated in the strike, along with the union, could face financial penalties, adding the alleged strike is over and officers are back to status quo. 'The question that should now be asked of the chief is, 'Does the police department have a ticket quota?'' McDonald said. 'There is no quota as we based the proof of our preliminary investigation on what was done in prior years,' Emminger said. 'The numbers are significantly lower significantly lower, like 90 percent lower.' At one point, the meeting lost control, with some screaming above the crowd and calling on town leaders to resign. A few attendees were asked to leave. Once the vote was made, everyone in support of the police filed out of the meeting immediately. The union said this was done in retaliation after its president exposed bullying and mismanagement from higher ups in the department. Emminger said the next steps are for an official investigative report to be released within the next 60 days. Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Town of Tonawanda Board alleges police officers participated in strike
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Town of Tonawanda Board has alleged that Tonawanda police officers wrote fewer tickets or ignored violations as part of a three-week strike that began in mid-January. The board is expected to charge its police union on Monday with violating the state's Taylor Law following an investigation that discovered the alleged strike. According to Town Supervisor Joe Emminger, the strike began in mid-January. Officials believe the alleged strike was a response from the police union after an officer — who has since resigned — was disciplined. 'This is public safety of the town, and it was jeopardized here,' Emminger said. 'What happened if there was an accident and the investigation found later that an officer ignored someone speeding and they ran a red light and hit somebody?' In a statement, Tonawanda Police Club president Andy Thompson said: 'Today's egregious and baseless resolution to sue our union is further evidence of the concerted effort by the Town Board to protect the Chief of Police at all costs, even going so far as to destroy our union. … We will not be intimidated by the Chief or the Town Board and we will fight this meritless lawsuit vigorously.' The Town of Tonawanda learned of the alleged strike earlier this month. New York State law requires the town to investigate and file a report within 60 days. The town board is expected to adopt a resolution on Monday to hire outside counsel. Dave Greber is an award-winning anchor and reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here. *** Mark Ludwiczak joined the News 4 team in 2024. He is a veteran journalist with two decades of experience in Buffalo. You can follow him online at @marklud12. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tonawanda moving forward in restoring Huntley Plant property
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — After years of legal battles, the Town of Tonawanda is finally moving forward in restoring the Huntley Plant waterfront property. Town Supervisor Joe Emminger said Friday that the former owner of the land has exhausted all his legal options, and the town will be moving forward to acquire the property. Now, the town will spend the next 30 to 60 days sending out requests for proposals to developers who may have interest in buying the 93-acre riverfront property, cleaning it up and turning it into something that will benefit the town. What's going on with the Huntley Plant waterfront property? The waterfront property is on River Road off of the Niagara River. Huntley burned coal on the land for more than 100 years before the plant closed in 2016. Eminent domain action was first initiated in 2019. The site has not yet been cleaned up. 'The next step is finally in the town's hands and we are taking those steps as we speak,' Emminger said during his State of the Town address on Friday morning. Emminger also said portions of the former Tonawanda Coke plant, which closed in 2018 amid air pollution issues, drawing the attention of state regulators and environmental activists, will be ready for development and re-development by 2026. Taking a closer look at Tonawanda Coke's turbulent history Ontario Special Contracting took control of the land in 2020. Cleanup costs for that plant are estimated at $80 million. Plans for what it is being turned into have not yet been finalized, but are in the works. You can watch Emminger's full State of the Town speech from Friday in the video player above. Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
