Taylor Township and Freedom Township have both approved an intermunicipal agreement under which Freedom Township’s Police Department will provide police services to Taylor for $110,000 a year, starting Dec. 1.

Freedom officers will run regular patrols, enforce speeding laws and laws that require drivers to stop for school buses loading or discharging students, local ordinances like those limiting noise during certain times and weight limit restrictions for trucks, according to Taylor Supervisors Chairman Jerome Dodson.

State police are the default law enforcement organization for Taylor Township now, but due to staffing limitations, state police officers are unable to patrol frequently in the township, attend to “nuisance” issues like speeding and school bus violations consistently or legally enforce local ordinances, according to Dodson.

“Obviously, the state police are wonderful,” said Freedom Township Police Chief Nathan Claycomb. “They’re just short-staffed.”

“I’m not badmouthing the state police,” Dodson said.

To fund the new service, the Taylor Township supervisors raised property taxes for next year by 1 mill, which will add $50 a year to the bill for properties assessed at $400,000, Dodson said.

As a supervisor in 2016, Dodson pushed for a municipal agreement to provide police service, but lack of funds and the opposition of another supervisor then scotched those hopes, he said.

This time, the three-person board was unanimous in favor of the plan, as were the 20 people who showed up at a special meeting to discuss it, Dodson said.

Taylor Township reached out not only to Freedom Township, but also to Roaring Spring and North Woodbury Township, but their respective police departments weren’t able to take on the additional responsibility, Dodson said.

For the last 20 years, Freedom Township has provided police service to Newry Borough, Claycomb said, which has worked well, he noted.

Newry Borough Council is “wonderful,” and there is open communication that allows for any issues to be worked out, Claycomb said.

As far as he knows, the new three-municipality territory for his department will be a first for any police organization in Blair County, Claycomb said.

Claycomb plans to add a pair of part-time officers to his staff — which currently consists of three full-time and two part-time officers.

As things proceed, it’s possible that more manpower will be needed, he said.

Taylor Township is similar to Freedom Township in size and land uses, so there shouldn’t be much adjustment needed for his department, according to Claycomb.

Freedom Township is 24 square miles, with a population of 3,400; while Taylor Township is 28 square miles, with a population of 2,300, he said.

“Residences, businesses and farmland,” he said.

The new arrangement provides answers from Taylor Township supervisors to frequent resident complaints about speeding and drivers passing stopped school buses, Dodson said.

On roads where the speed limit is 45 mph, drivers routinely go 60 or 70, he said.

On roads where the speed limit is 25, they go 50 or 60, he said.

Most roads in the township have a speed limit of 35 mph, but “nobody abides by that,” he said.

Some residents have expressed fear for the safety of children due to drivers ignoring the STOP plates that open out on school buses when kids are boarding or offloading, he said.

And too many drivers of heavy trucks are using the back roads for shortcuts, he said.

Those back roads have a 10-ton weight limit, and some of the trucks weigh as much as 40 tons, he said.

The township’s noise curfew is 10 p.m., which will be the basis for enforcement against late, loud parties, including those with live bands, he said.

Dispatchers at the 911 center will send out Freedom Township first, when officers are on duty, then state police, Dodson said.

Freedom Township is on duty for two shifts per day, as far as he knows, Dodson said.

Hiring Freedom Township is far less expensive for Taylor Township than starting a police department from scratch would be, according to Claycomb.

“We’re trying to do something different, that is cost-effective for taxpayers, and (to provide them) with basically better service,” Claycomb said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.