The Pearl River Police Department is already under financial pressure, has asked the Town for additional money, and is now at the center of another employment dispute that could potentially expose Pearl River taxpayers to even more legal costs.
A formal demand letter obtained by APR alleges a former School Resource Officer performed required work for years without being fully compensated. The letter threatens litigation if the dispute is not resolved.
According to the demand, the officer was required to report to his assigned school at 6:30 a.m., but the Town allegedly did not begin paying him until 7:00 a.m.
The letter says that when the officer recorded the additional time on his timesheet, a supervisor told him he would not be payed, because doing so would result in overtime.
The demand also specifically identifies Major Dean.
According to the employee’s attorney, Dean later argued that the officer’s lunch period should offset the additional time. The attorney disputes that explanation, arguing the officer was still responsible for monitoring students during lunch and could not leave campus until relieved.
These are allegations contained in a demand letter. A court has not ruled that the Town violated wage law in this matter.
What makes this particularly significant is that the attorney is not limiting the issue to one employee.
The Town has been instructed to preserve records involving other School Resource Officers who may have been subjected to the same practices during the previous three years, including timesheets, payroll records, schedules and communications.
That creates the possibility of additional claims if records show other employees were compensated under the same practices.
And it comes at a difficult time financially.
The Pearl River Police Department has already gone before the Town seeking additional funding as concerns have grown over whether its existing 2026 budget is sufficient to finish the year. Town officials have maintained that the department has enough funding to make it through the year.
Now, while those budget concerns remain unresolved, taxpayers are facing another potential legal expense tied directly to the operation and management of the police department.
That is the larger issue.
A department asking the Town for more operating money is simultaneously generating employment disputes that could require the Town to spend even more money defending or resolving them.
And if this wage issue affected multiple employees, the financial exposure may not end with this one demand.
The facts documented so far raise serious questions about financial management, payroll oversight and supervision inside the Pearl River Police Department.
For Pearl River residents, the question is becoming increasingly important:
How much more will taxpayers ultimately be asked to pay for problems created inside a department that is already asking the Town for more money?
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