ONEONTA — On Tuesday, Dec. 2, the city of Oneonta’s Community Police Board discussed the agenda for the upcoming year after reflecting on events from this past year.
Police Board Chairperson Ari Tobi said she would like to begin planning National Night Out, an annual community event that is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. National Night Out is a campaign used to promote police-community partnerships in effort to make neighborhoods safer.
Tobi said that to run this event, the board needs flyers and additional support from volunteers, but Oneonta Police Chief Christopher Witzenburg said the biggest conflict is that the department doesn’t have enough officers to attend the event.
“That’s been the challenge,” Witzenburg said. “We have just been terribly held up with other things.”
According to Witzenberg, the Oneonta Police Department has more members than the previous year, but may lose a sergeant in March and still has five other vacancies.
As of now, the police department is doing continuous recruitment, Witzenburg said. He made a pitch to students 19 and older, saying that the police test will be offered May 9, with the deadline for signups of April 9.
In addition to National Night Out, the police board plans to host its annual Earth Day event in April, and also is considering adding a student orientation event to the agenda for this upcoming year.
Police Board Vice Chairperson Pauletta Louis suggested the police board have the Oneonta Police Department be part of welcoming college students during fall orientation. Witzenburg agreed and said he will take the steps to find out if the Oneonta Police Department can join the University Police Department at orientation. More details about police board activities and events will be discussed at the next meeting, held in February.
Further information for those interested in becoming an Oneonta police officer can be found at www.oneonta.ny.us/ departments/personnel/police_recruiting.php.
This article was originally published on The Daily Star.
