North Buffalo Township Supervisor Chairman spoke last night at East Franklin Township meeting to promote a merger plan between their two police departments.
North Buffalo Township Supervisor Chairman David Wolfe came to the East Franklin Township public meeting last night to speak in support of a merger of the two police departments.
Wolfe in his typical style spoke directly about his desire to see East Franklin dissolve their police department and join with North Buffalo.
“We are looking for a merger,” Wolfe said, confirming local news reports that East Franklin supervisors has been in discussion for some time with North Buffalo. “We have had a number of meetings and they all have been good discussions. There were a lot of questions asked and answered. It’s upsetting some residents. I think it is more personal than factual. But as elected officials, that’s what we have to face. We are subject to public scrutiny and comments whether it is right or wrong.”
“We think it is going to be in everyone’s best interest,” he said four times during his 13-minute diatribe, which also included a verbal confrontation between East Franklin resident Barry Montgomery, in which Wolfe spoke loudly, telling Montgomery that he was not knowledgeable of the law governing disbanding of police departments by township supervisors.
“All we are trying to do is offer more coverage for you and at the same time help us. People have said that we don’t have enough police officers. We let two police officers resign this month. That’s true. But if was for reasons. The one just wanted to do CDL inspections on trucks. He wouldn’t do patrols, or anything else. I don’t want someone to just do truck inspections. The other one - I questioned the way he made police stops. He did good at making traffic stops, but everything turned into something about drugs. That’s a law suit waiting to happen. We have five other applicants that we are interviewing. We are going to have other police, and we offered Billy Evans a job if this occurs.”
Wolfe said the current contract which stipulates Evans to only work a weekday daylight shift is not providing adequate police protection.
“I think people have to look at the facts that (East Franklin supervisors) are facing. You have a police department that works 7:00 to 3:00, Monday through Friday. I have looked at the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Crime happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He’s entitled to his vacation. I don’t dispute that. But you are then without police coverage. When I spoke to him, he said, ‘State Police will cover it.’ That’s all well and good if they are around. We are offering to cover even the off-shifts for you. We will show you that we can do that. We are trying to help each other.”
Wolfe said he estimated the police department to be costing the Township approximately $148,000 annually.
“We will offer you an agreement that will cover yinz guys. We can offer you more shifts at $75,000. We will offer you shifts that you don’t cover right now. And we will absorb Officer Evans into the police department. He won’t work daylight all the time. He will work all the shifts all the other police officers work including the police chief.”
East Franklin Supervisor Chair Barry Peters said he wasn’t sure if they would merge with North Buffalo or simply contracting police services from them.
“It will depend on the recommendation by the State,” Peters said.
Both townships have submitted statistical information to the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services that is part of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). DCED will compile the information and create a feasibility study. Peters said he doesn’t anticipate that study to be completed before the end of the year.
A similar study was conducted in April 2004 for Cadogan, East Franklin, North, and South Buffalo townships. It was called the Western Armstrong County Regional Police Feasibility Study. The Regional Police Study Committee at that time included: Edward Scopel (Cadogan); Dan Goldinger, Larry Collar, and Debra Cornman (East Franklin); Paul Kirkwood and William Gray (North Buffalo) and Ronald Covone and David Brestensky (South Buffalo).
In 2004, the study showed an annual budget of $393,700 and the following staff: 1 chief of police, 1 sergeant, 3 full-time officers, 5 part-time officers, and a police clerk.
“I believe it is the best thing for both of us. I believe other communities will come on,” Wolfe said, indicating this may be the first of additional mergers with neighboring municipalities that are contingent to North Buffalo.
Peters read statistics in Pennsylvania that among townships such as East Franklin, 68% rely on State Police protection rather than have their own department. He said 42% of the townships have their own police departments. Townships that contract services from another municipality is 6%. Townships that are part of a regional police department are 4%, although that number is growing.
If we enter into an agreement where we provide services, I have no problem offering it for six months to a year and see if it does work. If it doesn’t work, either one of us can back out. The same with a merger,” Wolfe said.