Authority pressed to boost security
Saying he was giving the Fayette County Housing Authority members “souvenirs” from Fort Mason Village, Masontown Borough Councilman Tom Loukota threw a baggie of empty shell casings on the table during Thursday’s authority meeting to demonstrate a point of the problems the borough has at the housing project. “Those are killers,” Loukota said. “I’m asking you to protect the people in Fort Mason Village.” Loukota was seeking answers regarding when a decision would be made on a proposal for the authority to pay police departments for providing extra services to public housing properties. He said he is simply asking for a “stopgap measure” for above baseline services before a permanent solution is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The issue of possibly paying police departments for above baseline services has been discussed numerous times in the past, but the authority only received a written proposal outlining specific requests from various police departments a couple months ago. The proposal, which was not recommended for approval by FCHA Executive Director Thomas L. Harkless, included an amount of $218,194 for the departments.
Since that time, Washington Township Police submitted their proposal, bringing the proposed cost up to $257,506. Harkless earlier suggested capping any police services contribution at not more than 10 percent of the FCHA’s operating subsidy, which stands at about $2 million.
Last month, the authority instructed Harkless to come up with a specific proposal that he would recommend.
The issue was again discussed last month but not voted on. Board member James V. Bitonti, who was absent last month, said he believes the authority should deal with the ongoing union contract and the non-union administrative employees before dealing with the issue of how much to pay police departments.
Bitonti, the mayor of Belle Vernon, suggested that one solution is for the police to park their cruiser in front of the housing project during their lunch break.
Loukota said he previously spoke with the manager of Fort Mason Village, who suggested that extra patrols in between normal patrols would help. He said an extra police officer has already been hired, although they are waiting on the housing authority to come up with additional money to help fund the position.
Authority Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink explained that the matter is not on the agenda for approval because of several open issues. She said that she was disappointed in an Aug. 4 list of recommendations, which, among other things, recommends against making capital improvements for security cameras.
Zimmerlink said the recommendations also suggest paying $8,000 to each police department, for not more than a $64,000 one-time payment. She particularly was against the recommendation of creating a “criminal liaison position” with a $30,000 to $35,000 annual salary, for the purpose of collecting and analyzing police statistics and dealing with problems tenants, with a goal of evicting troublemakers. Harkless said it wasn’t his recommendation, and Zimmerlink pointed out that the recommendation came from FCHA staff.
According to Zimmerlink, the proposal said that increasing patrols will have little or no effect, and crime is down in public housing sites.
“I think the real statistics are in that baggie,” Loukota said.
Bitonti said he was against the criminal liaison position, saying all it would do is duplicate services.