South Union Twp.
Supervisors speak out against house bill South Union Township supervisors again spoke out against proposed state legislation aimed at forcing municipalities to form their own police department or pay for state police coverage. At Wednesday’s meeting, Supervisor Robert Schiffbauer said plans are in the works for House Bill 1500 to be reintroduced to the Legislature during special session.
House Bill 1500 would force municipalities without local police departments to pay for state police coverage.
Schiffbauer said some changes have been made to the bill, noting that none of the changes are positive.
Supervisors have argued that township residents already pay for state police coverage with their tax dollars and that charging an additional $156-per-resident fee is not fair.
The proposed legislation, which Schiffbauer referred to as a “backdoor tax,” would cost South Union Township more than $1 million a year.
“We have got to stop the tax-and-spend attitude we have in Harrisburg,” Schiffbauer said, urging residents to contact their state legislator and demand that the state adopts a more fiscal approach to government.
Supervisor Thomas Frankhouser, who is chairman of the board, also said House Bill 1500 is not a good piece of legislation.
Supervisors previously pledged their support for a Senate Bill proposed by state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, that would allow municipalities to pay $90,000 a year to have a state trooper assigned to patrol the respective municipality.
The bill, supervisors said, would give municipalities an option if they feel they need more police coverage than the state police a recurrently offering without mandating extra coverage.
State Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Township, proposed forming a countywide regional police department in response to House Bill 1500, but his proposal was not supported by the majority of local elected officials in Fayette County.
Instead of supporting Mahoney’s proposal, South Union Township decided to form its own Public Safety Task Force to research all of the township’s police options. The task force, which has been meeting monthly, will provide the township with a recommendation once all studies have been completed.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Supervisor Rick Vernon commended Schiffbauer for his work with the task force and said the group’s findings will provide direction and benefit the township.
In other business, supervisors awarded a $56,400 contract to Golden Eagle Construction Co. of Uniontown for blacktop.
Golden Eagle was the only company to submit bids for all three requested items. Hei-Way LLC of Sarver submitted a bid for one of three items, but its sole bid came in higher than Golden Eagle’s for the item.
In other matters, supervisors voted to adopt a resolution abolishing and terminating the code enforcement officer’s participation in the state’s non-uniform pension plan.
Supervisors also reminded residents that burning is only permitted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
The next township meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Aug. 4 in the municipal building.