Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Coxsackie Village Board March 8, adopted a reform and reinvention plan for its police department. The plan was developed in response to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's June executive order requiring all municipalities with a police agency to conduct a review of policies and procedures and to develop a plan to improve them in a way that would address the needs of the community. The Coxsackie plan includes implementing the Lexipol Manual and conducting training on the new manual, which Police Chief Samuel Mento said is considered the industry standard. The department will add diversity training to its requirements and provide de-escalation and mental health awareness training, as well. The police department is also looking to offer more programs for the community, such as a youth program, increase staffing levels and hire up to three new officers, implement body cameras, increase communication through social media, and make all publicly used police forms available online at the village website. Taking time to review the department has had a positive impact, Mento said. “It’s something that you don’t traditionally do, but I think it was a very positive move,” he said. The Coxsackie Police Department consists of 18 officers, including the police chief, patrol officers and a school resource officer. The department’s $332,308 annual budget is 24 percent of the village's $1.4 million budget. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.