Residents debate regional police
LOWER FREDERICK >> A public hearing on a proposal to form a regional police force among four Perkiomen Valley municipalities drew over 50 interested residents. The two-hour hearing was held Dec. 5 in Perkiomen Valley Middle School West auditorium.
It consisted of a presentation on a recently completed state study that looked at the costs and benefits of forming a regional department in Lower Frederick, Upper Frederick and Perkiomen townships and Schwenksville borough. Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions and comment after each of the two presenters spoke.
Most questions dealt with concerns over costs. The study, which was completed last month by the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services, recommends a full-time department for all four municipalities that would provide 24hour coverage, with 18 officers, two staff, 10 vehicles and a budget of $2.6 million. That force, if implemented, would serve a population of 18,897 in 26.37 square miles, 106 miles of roadway at a cost of $139 per resident per year.
Details of the study were presented by retired police chief Joseph Kirschner, the consultant who conducted the study. The hearing began with a presentation by Bill McGovern, a former Lower Frederick Township supervisor who is the facilitator for the regional police concept.
McGovern gave an overview of the reasons a regional department was being considered, and a snapshot of what it would look like. McGovern noted that of the four municipalities included in the study, only one has its own police department — Lower Frederick which has four officers. The other three municipalities rely on Pennsylvania State Police.
“We do have state police cov-
erage, but they are shorthanded,” McGovern told the crowd. “It’s hard for them to cover everything and they don’t cover local ordinances.”
Kirschner said the average response time for state police is 45 minutes. He estimated the response time for a full-time regional police department would average out to 10 minutes. What’s more, the state legislature has been considering several house bills that would impose fees on municipalities for patrol services provided by the state police.
One of those bills, House Bill 1500, could wind up costing taxpayers $156 per person. If that were to pass, residents would pay more for existing state police coverage than a regional police force with 24-hour coverage, McGovern said.
Both McGovern and Kirschner discussed the make-up of a proposed regional police department. According to Kirschner, it would consist of two patrol zones so that the entire region would be patrolled 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-aweek.
A regional police commission would be formed to oversee the department, and would be made up of elected officials from each municipality.
“The chief would get all his direction from the commission,” said McGovern. “No one municipality would run it.”
He said Lower Frederick would abolish its municipal police department, and the regional police force would rent space in that building, with a small substation set up in Perkiomen Township. McGovern noted that the timing is right forming a regional police force because
“Right now we have the spirit of cooperation. All the supervisors (from the four townships) were on board with the study.”
Nevertheless, cost could be a sticking factor for approving a regional police department. Because there are not currently reliable crime statistics for all the municipalities, Kirschner said the costs per municipality would be divided using population as the primary driver.
Based on population, a four-municipality regional force would cost Lower Frederick $681,356; Upper Frederick $497,914; Schwenksville $183,442 and Perkiomen $1,257,888. Kirschner said the average household cost for the police force would total an estimated $35 per month.
He noted that the average US household pay $165 a month for cable service, and $146 a month for cell phone service.
“Everybody’s got cell phones and cable TV,” Kirschner observed. However, one audience member raised objections to the costs. Tim Huff, a former East Greenville Borough Council member, said the proposed costs for Perkiomen Township would represent a budget increase of over 30 percent.
“I think we’re being too aggressive. I’d rather start with 10 officers and grow this thing,” Huff said.
He also referenced a regional police force between Pennsburg and East Greenville that was abolished because “the two boroughs were not able to come together.”
Both those municipalities now have their own police departments. But Kirschner said some cost could be offset by grants.
“There’s a lot of grant money out there from the state for regional police departments,” Kirschner said.
While the study also looked at a second regional police force option, with only three municipalities, neither Kirschner nor McGovern discussed that possibility.
”We’re hoping we can get all four together, because that’s the best economic way to do it and get 24/7 coverage” said McGovern.
When asked about the time frame for making a decision on forming a department, Kirschner said there was none. Each municipality will get feedback from their constituents. “They can move as fast or slow as they need to,” he said.