By MIA LIGHT (Staff Writer)
Published: February 9, 2010
The Hazle Township Board of Supervisors on Monday walked away from forming a regional police department this year.
Presented with the opportunity to add 1 mill to the local property tax, supervisors tabled action on the proposal, effectively eliminating the township’s participation in the a regional police department with neighboring Butler Township and West Hazleton Borough for 2010.
[Snip]
Butler Township Supervisors will meet Wednesday with similar action on the agenda; however, Chairman Ransom Young said last week he is likely to vote against the proposal because many Butler Township residents voiced opposition to the plan.
West Hazleton Borough Council Chairman William Sharkey Jr. last week said he did not expect the regional police proposal to gain approval this week.
[Snip]
Meanwhile, Supervisor William Gallagher said the township, which does not have its own police department, will continue to rely on Pennsylvania State Police for its law enforcement needs.
A proposal has been under consideration in the Pennsylvania Legislature for several years that would levy a per-capita fee on municipalities that do not maintain their own police departments but rely entirely on state police.
In its most recent format, Gallagher said the Senate proposal would allow municipalities to “buy” a state trooper for $75,000 per year. The fee would provide one dedicated trooper to the municipality.
Under that format, Gallagher said Hazle Township would be able to “buy” six troopers for about $450,000 per year, which is less than half of the $1.2 million the township was prepared to dedicate to the regional police proposal.
While township officials keep an eye on legislative developments, Supervisor Francis “Butch” Boyarski said the board is actively exploring the numerous avenues to future police protection, including regionalization.
“The state police are doing a great job, so we will continue to rely on state police while we explore the many options available to us. And there are many options,” Boyarski said.
