During the August 10 City Council meeting, a new Police-Community Relations and Review Board was appointed.

The new chairperson is Sertaira Boyd, who was sworn in on August 18.

Boyd has been on the board for two terms for a total of four years. She joined the board as a member of her ward, and then moved to Vice President before being the Chair.

She has been a resident of Newburgh for seven years and an active member in the community.

Gabrielle Hill and Cassie Sklarz were appointed as at-large members and Jacquelin Willis-Howard was appointed as a Ward 4 member.

The board consists of nine members where two members are appointed from each of the four wards by the Council member elected from each ward. The Chair is appointed by the City Council.

The Police-Community Relations and Review Board was originally formed in July of 2014. The board aims to “improve communication between the City of Newburgh Police Department and the community, increase police accountability and credibility with the public and to create a fair and impartial complaint process.”

“We fell into a rut of life, being busy and so on,” said Boyd about her experience on the board prior. “We weren’t able to have quorum. But now we have a new team who will be more effective.”

Members have 30 days to officially be sworn in, meaning that by the second week of September all board members will be sworn in.

“We want to let people know we exist,” said Boyd. “There will be a live Zoom to collectively establish our motto. It will state that we believe the citizens of Newburgh and police should be unified.”

The board encourages open discussion between the Police Department and the community regarding public safety and other issues of concern.

“The board is about helping everyone, from minor complaints to more severe,” said Boyd.

Although the name of the board is Police-Community Relations and Review, Boyd hopes to “expand, serve our community and let residents know that it is going to be a resource to help everyone.”

Boyd is in communication and will be working with the new Chief of Police Arnold Amthor.

“It will be a meeting of the minds [between police and residents] to see how we can resolve things,” said Boyd.