Connellsville considers supplying police services to neighboring township
CONNELLSVILLE – City council is considering a request from neighboring Connellsville Township to provide policing services to the community. The two boards met informally Tuesday to discuss the needs of the township.
“Right now, we only have the state police (patrolling) the township, but we’d like to have some one there on a more regular basis,” said township Supervisor Fred Robbins.
The township has a pending Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Universal Hiring Grant that was approved in 2001, but Robbins said that officials have been unable to locate the paperwork pertaining to the funding to determine its status.
If available, said Robbins, the grant would be used to defray the costs associated with the contracted service.
City police Chief Stephen Cooper estimated that costs for one full-time officer would annually total nearly $45,000 with additional fees for the use of city vehicles and if the assigned officer incurred any overtime.
Supervisor Charles Basinger suggested that a part-time service could be arranged to keep costs at a minimum.
Cooper said that the city department does respond to incidents in Connellsville and Dunbar townships for state police when their officers are unable to respond in a timely manner and has a shared service agreement with South Connellsville Borough if a major occurrence takes place in either locale.
“If something happens in the borough and they need our help, we’re there and if we need help, the borough will send an officer,” said Cooper.
The township has not had a municipal police force for several years. The COPS grant was to enable the township to contract with South Connellsville Borough Police Department for policing services, but an agreement was never reached, said Robbins.
City Councilman Bruce Jaynes said that the request has merit.
“It’s not something we would say no to,” he said. “Hopefully, we can work something out.”
Mayor Judy Reed said that she would request city solicitor Joseph Ferens to review the matter and advise council.
The two sides agreed to meet again when more information became available regarding the COPS grant.