Board denies rumors it wants to cut cops
WEST POTTSGROVE » Responding to rumors the township has plans to eliminate the police department while crime is soaring, township commissioners presented a detailed rebuttal.
“We are not, I repeat not, eliminating the police department,” commissioners’ Chairman Steve Miller said during the Wednesday night meeting.
Township Manager Scott Hutt said the board hired an outside consultant, Safe City Solutions, to find a new police chief to replace Matthew Stofflet, who died suddenly at the end of last year.
“We’re very happy with the quality of applicants,” said Hutt.
“Why would we do that if we were going to eliminate the department?” asked Miller.
Concerns had evidently been fueled by the fact that the police department is down two officers, one due to a resignation and another due to sick leave.
Rather than hire a full-time replacement, the commissioners had instructed Stofflet last year to fill the roster with part-time officers for the time being, even though the budget called for a full complement of officers.
But Miller read from a memo written in February 2020 instructing Stofflet to set up a civil service test to allow for the hiring of new officers. They had held off for a variety of reasons, said Miller, but no longer.
Wednesday night, the board voted unanimously to hold the test in preparation for creating a list from which hiring could take place.
Hutt also gave a presentation indicating that, contrary to rumors, West Pottsgrove’s crime rate is going down, not up.
“Violent crime is not soaring,” said Miller.
Police arrests peaked in 2017 and calls in 2018, according to statistics Hutt presented.
Further, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp drop in retail theft calls, presumably because fewer people were in stores, but a big increase in harassment and disorderly conduct calls.
All that said, the police department is the township’s single most expensive budget line, and sustaining it puts a strain on a limited budget, said Hutt.