Beaver County officials offering money to merging police departments

CONWAY, Pa. — It’s no secret that police departments are struggling with shortages and so are fire departments.

“Where you come down to a real problem is competitive wages. The departments paying high salaries aren’t just taking the new cadets, they are taking seasoned officers,” said Ron Leindecker who’s the New Sewickley Township Manager.

That’s why some departments are making the move to merge.

“The biggest benefit is getting more officers under one umbrella,” said Sgt. David Shipley with the Beaver Valley Regional Police.

Beaver Valley Regional Police are a combination of Baden, Conway, Freedom and now Rochester Township.  That merger didn’t come without a cost.

“Re-lettering of the vehicles, new uniforms for the officers, new badges there is a big cost, pension merging,” Sgt. Shipley said.

That’s why the county commissioners are pulling money together to encourage other police and fire departments to do the same.

“I firmly believe the benefit is sharing services. We are seeing it in our school districts in beaver county sharing teachers’, guidance counselors’, principals, superintendents. We need to start thinking outside the box in our communities as well,” said Dan Camp who’s a Beaver County Commissioner.

While it may not work for all, those who do by September 30th of next year will receive up to $50,000 in reimbursements to help with the transition.

“There are going to be some bumps down the road, but I do believe we are going to fill those gaps where we need police officers. We are hoping to start this trend in Beaver County and support our communities,” Camp said.

In total, the commissioners put aside $250,000 out of the general budget. The hope is to finalize the details next week and open up the application process.

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