Our previous blog dealt with the hurdles in a district-to-district merger and a district-to-district agreement for upper grades, but hopes and spirits are high in Westmoreland County on a possible combination of two police departments.
This idea is in the early stages, so positives are being emphasized–no reduction to jobs, future savings, better service–but the second stage of the study might be where hang-ups occur (pensions, union contracts, location of the combined force) but it is possible that this could be one of the regional police forces that are established in the state.
The article points out that there are 16 officers currently in the two municipalities, and the 2014 LBFC study noted that resistance to form a regional department by existing departments having ten or fewer officers cited “lack of control, costs, and the distribution of costs“.
