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On Monday, North Lebanon Township supervisors agreed to hold a public hearing for the regional police charter at its July meeting.
The hearing on the charter, which would begin the process of merging the North Lebanon and North Cornwall township police departments, will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, at the township building.
Supervisor Gary Heisey said that the board plans to take a vote following the hearing, but this may change depending on public feedback.
If the charter is adopted, Heisey said, planning for the regional department will continue, with the hopes of the Regional Police Commission being formed in January. However, he said, the charter gives the township the ability to back out before the commission is formed if the board is unsatisfied with it.
Heisey noted that for some items, the townships cannot even receive estimated costs without a charter in place. While the development committee estimated the merged department’s expenditures as totaling $4,949,310 (with savings of $60,050 for the township), Heisey said they do not yet know what some items may actually cost.
Former township manager Cheri Grumbine previously voiced her concerns that expenses may cost more than budgeted, as well as other potential issues with regionalization.
Read More: Former NLT manager airs concerns with police pact, committee reviews budget
The committee also has yet to work out details like the collective bargaining agreement and officer schedules. If adopted, these details will be ironed out before the governing Regional Police Commission is formed.
Heisey and supervisor Ardy Snook favored setting the hearing. Chairman Ed Brensinger was opposed because he feels regionalization may be more expensive than anticipated and he worries it will take control of the police force out of the township’s hands.
An item of controversy Monday was the hearing date. North Lebanon Township’s meetings are typically held the third Monday of the month (which would be July 15), but as Heisey will be out of town, the board agreed to move the meeting to July 9.
Brensinger was opposed to moving the meeting, as he feels it overly rushes regionalization. He and several members of the public expressed concern with the perceived time crunch to get regionalization started.
Snook disagreed, saying “Nobody’s rushing anything.” He explained that other regionalized departments, which board members had spoken to whilst considering regionalization, had only taken longer to set up because the municipalities were more different than North Lebanon and North Cornwall.
A DCED regionalization study last year found the townships to be similar and compatible for regionalization.
Read More: North Lebanon Township supervisors consider regional police with N. Cornwall
If regionalized, North Lebanon’s 11-officer force and North Cornwall’s 12-officer force would merge to form a 24-officer force serving both areas.
NLTPD chief Tim Knight said previously that he expects that, with 12-hour shifts (as has been floated), the department would have five officers per shift covering both townships. He emphasized his concern for officer safety as, at present, officers occasionally need to work without backup.
Read More: N. Cornwall, N. Lebanon discuss 12-hour, 3-zone proposal for regional police pact
Knight would continue to be the chief of a regionalized force, as he reassured a member of the public who was concerned he might lose his position during the merger.
Snook and Heisey’s reasoning for supporting the merge, as they have discussed at previous meetings, includes safety and other factors.
One is the difficulty the township has had finding officers, a difficulty shared by North Cornwall. Knight says regionalized forces tend to have more applicants, as the department offers more opportunities for promotion.
Knight also said that a regional police force would place the department’s odds of receiving state and federal grants higher, as he said the state has been favoring regional forces as of late. While these grants are not considered in the budget, he expects that they will bring down costs.
The decision on going forward with regionalization is now up to North Lebanon Township, as North Cornwall Township unanimously agreed to adopt the charter after a public hearing Tuesday.
North Lebanon residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the charter and voice their opinions, positive or negative, at the hearing July 9.
In case you missed it… Background on this story
Late 2023, North Cornwall and North Lebanon townships informally began conversations about merging their respective police departments.
The goal of this regionalization, North Lebanon’s police chief said, would be to increase safety for officers who occasionally have to work alone.
A police regionalization study had found the townships to be compatible for regionalization, with comparable populations of 8,511 (NCT) and 12,041 (NLT).
As of the time regionalization talks began, North Cornwall had 11 officers and North Lebanon had 10, though 12 were in the budget. They expected a regional force to include 24 officers.
North Lebanon hosted an informational meeting in September 2023 to present residents with details on possible regionalization.
Read more: North Lebanon Township supervisors consider regional police with N. Cornwall
The next month, the townships formed a Regional Police Development Committee consisting of supervisors from both township’s board, their police chiefs, and their township managers. This committee was tasked with creating and reviewing a charter for a prospective regionalized police force.
Read more: N. Lebanon Township creates committee to consider regional police force
Public meetings of the committee were held through this year to review the charter, including ironing out details like a 50/50 budget split, the workings of the governing Regional Police Commission, and what would happen if either township backed out after forming the regionalized police.
Read More:
- Committee begins to review charter for regional police in N. Cornwall, N. Lebanon
- N. Cornwall, N. Lebanon agree to 50/50 split for proposed regional police charter
- Regional police steering committee reviews draft of updated charter
- Former NLT manager airs concerns with police pact, committee reviews budget
- N. Cornwall, N. Lebanon discuss 12-hour, 3-zone proposal for regional police pact
After the draft was completed and reviewed by attorneys on both sides, both townships agreed to hold hearings on the charter.
Read more: North Lebanon Township to take steps toward regional police formation
If, following the hearings, both townships opt to go forward with the charter, the townships will go forward with regionalization, unless either backs out before the Regional Police Commission is formed.
In other news, supervisors:
- Unanimously agreed to authorize engineer Steve Sherk to advertise bids for the Lion’s Lake rehabiliation project once the Army Corps of Engineers submits its approval. The township is on a deadline to complete the project by September 2025, as it is funded mostly through a $250,000 DCNR grant.
- Unanimously agreed to hire a full-time office clerk/receptionist, a part-time office clerk, and a part-time public works employee. Township manager Lori Books said the receptionist position has been open since 2020 (when the pandemic began), and that is the reason the office is closed Tuesdays and Thursdays (which the township has been criticized for in the past).
- Mentioned that the township is looking to purchase 801 Kimmerlings Road in the hopes of improving safety at the adjacent intersection.
- Unanimously agreed to hire Jordan Nichols as an officer, first sending him to the police academy. His academy tuition will be paid for 75 percent by the state and 25 percent by the Biever Foundation.
- Unanimously authorized the public works director to sign a purchasing order for sliplining work. The project totals $576,624.55, with $425,000 received from an H20 grant.
- Unanimously agreed to approve the fire police helping with the Lebanon Area Fair traffic control July 24-27.
- Unanimously agreed to dispense $24,000 to all four volunteer fire companies as their semi-annual 2024 contribution.
- Unanimously agreed to grant $30,000 from the Fire Company Capital Reserve Fund to Glenn Lebanon Fire Company to make an annual payment on equipment.
- Unanimously agreed to permit Rural Security Fire Company to hold a pig roast fundraiser June 22.
- Unanimously agreed to grant time extensions to the Manor View Estates and 275 Narrows Drive plans.
- Unanimously approved various items’ sale via MuniciBid.
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