Local News: October 6, 2023

- Ithaca Police reach a new contract agreement with the City -

Ithaca Police and the Ithaca Common Council have unanimously voted for a new labor contract. The two-year contract will go into effect on January 1. The base pay for an officer will increase from a little over $57,000 to $74,000. The top base pay could rise to between about $90,000 and $100,000 over the term of the contract. According to a statement from the Ithaca Police Benevolent Association, the police union that negotiated the contract, officers can still earn overtime, holiday pay, and compensation for more difficult shifts and longevity. Investigators will have a separate pay scale and there’s now an on-call list of investigators to provide round-the-clock coverage.

- Tompkins County considers $700K pilot rapid response EMS for underserved areas of the county -

The Tompkins County legislature is considering a two-year pilot EMS rapid response program. The new service would fill gaps in the existing emergency services. County EMS Coordinator Joe Milliman told the legislature that some calls have not been answered and the response time for other calls is longer than average. Departments around the county are also facing a shortage of volunteers. Responders in the pilot program would treat people on-site while waiting for an emergency unit to arrive. Emergency officials estimated it would cost about $700,000 to launch the program.

- Facial recognition technology banned from all New York schools -

Facial recognition technology is banned from all schools in New York State. The Elmira Star-Gazette says that the state Department of Education issued the ban in September following a state report that raised concerns about a high rate of false positives for women, nonbinary, transgender people, and people of color. Seven school districts were using facial recognition technology as of August. A survey of districts found that about half said they would consider using it. While facial recognition tech is banned schools are still allowed to use other biometric identifying technology.