Nov 10, 2004 By Christine Haines 3 min read

BROWNSVILLE – Brownsville Borough Council Tuesday officially voted to end discussions related to a regional police force until the borough’s financial situation improves. Councilman John Hosler proposed the halt to regionalization talks, noting that he is frequently asked when the regional police are coming to Brownsville even though no vote had been taken on the matter.

Council president Jack Lawver said that formal talks between the borough’s police committee, the Southwest Regional Police, Newell and Belle Vernon ended about two months ago, with all parties involved deciding it was too expensive at this time primarily because of health insurance costs.

Hosler had also proposed that at least five council members be present at any future discussions of regionalization, even though the council committees are generally made up of three members. Hosler alleged during the meeting that some of the regional police discussions were held in closed-door private meetings.

“All meetings were held to the letter of the law,” Lawver said.

Lawver and Councilman Robert Pritts, who chairs the public safety committee, voted against halting regionalization discussions. The other five councilmen voted in favor of the motion.

A motion by Pritts to hire an additional part-time officer died for lack of a second. Pritts noted that there is a possibility of the department incurring overtime expenses if someone calls off sick or leaves the department. Councilman Edward “Tuck” Rohrer, who chairs the finance committee, said that he felt there were currently sufficient part-time officers to prevent an overtime situation, since council approved the hiring of two additional part-time officers last month. The testing and interview process is still under way for those hires.

Rohrer asked that all departments go through the borough secretary for all purchases from now through the end of the year because of budget overruns that need to be controlled.

“We need to be able to pay our utilities and meet payroll,” Rohrer said.

Council Tuesday also voted to purchase a new borough truck through the state piggyback program at a cost of $47,196.94. The borough has received a grant for $20,000 through state Rep. Bill DeWeese toward the purchase price. Lawver said the new truck isn’t much larger than the current truck, but it is more heavily constructed and should withstand the wear and tear of snow removal. The borough will be keeping the old borough truck, so there will be two trucks available for snow removal if needed.

Council also voted to cover half the cost of repairs to Century Bridge that connects Brownsville and Brownsville Township. Lawver said it will cost about $1,500 for new wooden bridge decking. He said it has been suggested that the decking be replaced with metal and concrete, which would cost about $15,000, but last much longer than the wooden decking. Lawver said grants are being sought for the upgrade to the bridge.