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Myerstown Borough Council unanimously agreed to authorize the township manager to reach out to the newly formed Lebanon County Regional Police Department at its monthly meeting Tuesday.
The merged North Lebanon and North Cornwall police departments, which is expected to be operational January 2025, has adopted a charter that includes the possibility of other municipalities joining as members or hiring out the department’s services.
Read More: N. Lebanon, N. Cornwall move toward Lebanon County Regional Police Dept.
Myerstown does not have its own police department and currently utilizes the services of state police. However, residents complain that the state police are slow to respond and do not adequately address safety concerns.
“This town ain’t getting any safer,” said resident Bob Jones, urging the council to look into policing options.
Jones mentioned a $100 police fee the borough charges residents, asking what this will be used for if a police department is not established or hired.
Council president Park Haverstick II said that those funds are held in a separate account and are not used for anything else. However, he said that the council has “turned over every stone” and “nothing seems to be coming out that is feasible,” noting that if Myerstown solicited full-time police coverage, the stockpile would likely only cover that expense for around two years.
He said that if the borough ultimately cannot reach a resolution with finding alternative police coverage, it might consider maintaining the fee but going longer than it otherwise would without a tax increase and releasing the funds into other governmental operations.
Haverstick said that full-time police services could eat up the majority of the borough’s budget — something reflected in the budgets of many municipalities with police departments.
North Lebanon’s 2024 budget saw 47 percent of funds going toward police. While some municipalities see a smaller portion of the budget going toward policing, it is usually one of the larger expenses in a municipality’s budget.
Residents suggested ticketing as a way to recoup lost funds, but Haverstick said that speeding tickets would benefit the state rather than the borough, and that parking tickets generate income but would be unreliable.
For now, council will wait to see if the regional department would be willing to provide services and, if so, what the cost would be.
In other news, the council:
- Unanimously agreed to advertise three parts of the proposed 2025 budget, with no tax increase being planned for the year.
- Unanimously agreed to contract with Miller Soil Solutions to improve several alleys using the remaining $116,201.31 in ARPA funds (subject to some change due to interest) and $40,950.29 from the borough’s around $1,000,000 surplus.
- Agreed to transfer planning responsibilities for a carnival in 2026 from the rec board to Myerstown Vitality Partnership.
- Discussed several rec board items, including a request the board be permitted to work with student volunteers from the school during the school day. Haverstick requested that the school provide a written request including who will be responsible for the children during that time.
- Unanimously agreed to approve a resolution accepting the Lebanon County Treasurer’s Office rate increase from 50 cents per bill to $1 per bill.
- Unanimously agreed to approve several event requests, including two “Mommy Swap Shops” and Isaac Meier Homestead educational classes.
- Unanimously agreed to authorize the solicitor to revise the lease agreement with the library to be more specific about responsibilities.
- Unanimously agreed to enter a lease with Modern Gent Hat Co. to use a room of the community center.
- Unanimously approved minutes and reports.
Myerstown Borough Council meets the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.
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