Paying for police
Municipalities without local departments may be charged for state police presence
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A plan to charge Pennsylvania municipalities that rely on the state police as their primary law enforcement is once again on the table in Harrisburg, and although this time it includes a sliding scale based on population, the proposal still isn't gaining much traction among area lawmakers and township supervisors.
Gov. Tom Wolf's latest proposal to charge municipalities without police departments for state police services aims to end the use of highway money to fund two-thirds of the state police's $1.3 billion budget. If approved as part of the latest budget proposal, it is expected to generate about $103 million.
J.J. Abbott, Wolf's press secretary, said Friday in a statement that the money would be used to fund three new cadet classes that will improve public safety statewide.
"Governor Wolf first presented the per capita fee to municipalities that rely on PSP for police services as a way to meet the budget request and lessen the burden on other sources, including the Motor License Fund," Abbott said. "The state can no longer supplement local and municipal law enforcement agencies' reliance on PSP services at no cost while they suspend their own services."
Abbott stressed, "The fee represents a fraction of what 10 million Pennsylvanians already pay to support their local and regional police departments and would not be charged to taxpayers. This proposal would not impact approximately 80 percent of the state's population."
The fees would range from $8 per person for municipalities with populations under 2,000 up to $166 per person for those with more than 20,000.
Half have own police
Of the state's 2,561 municipalities, state police are the only law enforcement for 1,291. State data indicate 419 municipalities get part-time coverage and 851 municipalities pay for their own police.
It's been decades since Snyder Township had its own police officer. Although Snyder Township Supervisor Jim Burket said while the idea of implementing a police department has come up, it isn't something he would support.
"It would be a huge burden," Burket said.
Burket doesn't support the plan to impose an extra fee on municipalities for state police either. His suggestion is that Wolf should look for ways to cut spending before saddling taxpayers with more expenses.
"I think he needs to look at his own fat and where it needs to be cut back," Burket said.
According to 2017 numbers provided by state police, troopers responded to 828 calls in Snyder Township for an estimated 3,371 residents.
"The Pennsylvania State Police are our police force," Burket said. "They do an outstanding job."
Burket said if it came down to choosing between the extra fee and starting a police department, he would rather pay the fee.
"I think the biggest bang for our buck would be to pay for state police coverage as opposed to having a police force," Burket said.
The per capita fee for Snyder Township would be $25, according to the sliding scale in the proposal.
Tyrone pays $147
In Tyrone Borough, which is surrounded by the township, the cost of running a full-time police department comes in at about $800,000 when cost of salaries, equipment and pensions are added up, said Borough Manager Ardean Latchford.
With a 2017 population estimate of 5,473, that comes out to about $147 per capita for its police department.
The trend statewide is to cut police departments, which has played into the push in Harrisburg to address state police funding, and Latchford admitted funding one isn't a cheap endeavor.
"A lot of times when cities are facing financial difficulty, the first thing they want to cut is emergency services," Latchford pointed out, adding the reason for that is police departments don't generate revenue. Latchford said the borough has been blessed to be on good financial footing and instead of cutting, it's expanded its police force.
Latchford said the borough added two additional full-time officers in recent years to ensure 24-hour, seven-days-a-week protection and to also address the revolving door of part-time officers. Small departments rely heavily on part-time officers, which makes it difficult to cover shifts affected by vacations and sick time. Adding to that, officer turnover was high because officers often move on to full-time jobs after only a short period of time. It leads to higher costs for things such as uniforms and other equipment and hampers efficiency, Latchford explained.
The borough has also entered into an agreement to patrol part of Snyder Township surrounding the Tyrone Area School District campus, Latchford said.
In all, state police answered 8,148 calls in all municipalities in Blair County in 2017, excluding traffic stops, according to its own records.
The fewest calls were in the tiny borough of Newry, with five, closely followed by the Blair County portion of Tunnelhill Borough with seven. Newry has a population of 270, and there are 118 residents in Tunnelhill Borough. Under the proposal, those municipalities would see an $8 per capita charge because they have fewer than 2,000 residents.
Highest call volumes
Blair Township, which has a police department and a population of about 4,496, had the most state police responses at 1,405, followed by Antis Township with 1,156 state police responses for its 6,481 residents. The sliding scale charge per capita for Antis would be $50 per person.
For Frankstown Township, the largest municipality without a police department in Blair County with about 7,383 residents, the fee per person would come in at $58. In 2017, state police responded to Frankstown Township 813 times.
Frankstown Township Supervisor James Grove said he wasn't in favor of adding a police force for the township.
"We voted it down one time before," Grove said, citing cost as the reason.
"Personally, I think we're better off without it because it costs too much," he explained. Grove pointed out that the idea of charging municipalities for state police was first broached by Gov. Tom Ridge, who wanted a $5 per capita fee because of large population municipalities that had no police of their own and only used state police. Grove said the state is also seeing a decline in the number of police departments and said the cost is the reason municipalities don't want their own departments.
"I personally wouldn't vote for it," he said of adding a police department.
Whether legislators in Harrisburg will vote for a state police fee remains to be seen, but what isn't disputed is the need to find a way to fund the state police so troopers can effectively do their jobs. Breaking the controversial practice of using the highway dollars to fund state police won't be an easy task, local lawmakers admitted.
"It's a tough issue," said Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair. "How do you replace those funds?"
Taxing double
Ward likened the plan to double-taxation and said residents already pay for the state police. She said she's not seen a good plan to address the state police funding issue and suggested if Pennsylvania was more business-friendly, the subsequent growth would lead to more revenue and more funding choices.
"I'm not in favor of the proposal," Ward said. "I do feel it's double taxation for rural communities."
Ward said the state can't continue to tax communities that are already struggling. If implemented, communities would have two choices that both lead to more expenses.
"For some communities, it would be a real hardship to expect them to put together a police department," she said.
State Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Hollidaysburg, said communities are already dealing with mandates from the state that increasingly squeeze their budgets. He doesn't support the idea of an extra tax on municipalities.
"What I'm looking for is security for our residents," Gregory said. "If you're going to charge, let us know what we're going to get for it. Are we going to get more troopers?"
He said it's important to respect the tough job of the troopers and make sure the state police are funded, especially to bring the number of troopers back to where it needs to be to best serve the people of the commonwealth.
"I'm not supportive of the proposal as it is right now," Gregory said, adding he will be open to ideas and proposals as the budget process continues.
Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.
State police calls
These are the number of times state police were called to these municipalities in 2017 and their estimated population
Calls Population
Allegheny Township 577 6,730
Antis Township 1,156 6,481
Blair Township 1,405 4,496
Catharine Township 70 723
Frankstown Township 813 7,383
Freedom Township 163 3,454
Greenfield Township 807 4,160
Huston Township 20 1,341
Juniata Township 115 1,111
Logan Township 850 12,640
North Woodbury Township 92 2,646
Snyder Township 828 3,371
Taylor Township 301 2,471
Tyrone Township 131 1,889
Woodbury Township 116 1,692
Altoona 224 45,945
Bellwood Borough 68 1,823
Duncansville 71 1,232
Hollidaysburg Borough 85 5,792
Martinsburg Borough 38 1,995
Newry Borough 5 270
Roaring Spring Borough 80 2,581
Tyrone Borough 81 5,473
Williamsburg Borough 45 1,253
Tunnelhill Borough (Blair County) 7 118
Total Blair County calls 8,148*
Total Cambria County calls 6,841
*excludes traffic stops
Fee scale
Proposed sliding scale
(does not include inmates)
Population Per capita fee
0-2,000 $8
2,000-3,000 $17
3,000-4,000 $25
4,000-5,000 $33
5,000-6,000 $42
6,000-7,000 $50
7,000-8,000 $58
8,000-9,000 $66
9,000-10,000 $75
10,000-11,000 $83
11,000-12,000 $91
12,000-13,000 $100
13,000-14,000 $108
14,000-15,000 $116
15,000-16,000 $125
16,000-17,000 $133
17,000-18,000 $141
18,000-19,000 $149
19,000-20,000 $158
20,000 + $166