Charleroi Regional Police board forms allocation committee
CHARLEROI — The way each community will be billed for services in 2017 is being reconsidered by the Charleroi Regional Police Department operating board.
At Wednesday’s meeting of the board, chairman Bill Lee of Speers called for the formation of an allocation committee, the group that will be responsible for hashing out the new funding formula for the communities. It will be up to the full board to adopt the new formula.
The regional department covers Charleroi, North Charleroi, Speers and Twilight. Twilight actually contracts with the department for services, paying a flat fee of $9,000 a year at present. Currently, each of the three member communities pays a portion of the budget based upon population, per capita income and square miles. Lee said he did some research and learned that additional criteria may be considered, now that the department has been operating for a few years.
“Initially, there was no record of the number of incidents in each community. My researched showed it should be included after two years,” Lee said. “It also said the Department of Community and Economic Development has concluded there are 35 regional police departments in Pennsylvania at this time, providing a higher level of service at a lower cost.”
Lee said his research also indicated that real estate values in each community could be considered in determining ability to pay for services. Lee said he was also surprised to learn that 83 percent of municipalities in Pennsylvania with police departments employed fewer than 10 police officers. Lee said his research came from the DCED.
“They said the biggest obstacle to regionalization was giving up power. I think sometimes you have to have faith in your communities and what you have to gain,” Lee said.
The mayors of Charleroi, North Charleroi and Speers will serve on the allocation committee, with Charleroi Mayor Terry Newstrom serving as the chair.
The three will work closely with Chief Eric Porter, solicitor Christine Cardinale, consultant Bill Gamble, and the DCED to come up with an equitable allocation formula. Porter was directed to have 2017 budget figures available for the committee in September.
In other matters, Cardinale reported that she completed the 41-page grant application along with the Charleroi Area School District for a state Department of Education grant to help cover the cost of the school resource officer. The department is seeking a $60,000 grant toward the cost of two years of coverage.
The committee is also applying for a grant toward the cost of a new K-9 dog from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation K-9 Grant Program, which had provided partial funding for a previous dog for the department.
North Charleroi Wednesday presented a check for $1,500 to the K9 fund and various fundraising activities are planned during a police appreciation day being held Aug. 27 in Charleroi.
Porter reported that the new police car is currently being fitted with various pieces of equipment and is scheduled to be detailed. The new car cost $34,906.