MARION TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The three-man Marion Township Board of Supervisors voted to disband its part-time police department Monday, citing rising costs and the advantages that come with having a full-time department.
The vote during a contentious and at times emotional meeting approved a contract with neighboring New Sewickley, which has covered nighttime calls in the township for the past seven years.
“This is not easy. It wears on you,” Supervisor Dean Davis said, before breaking down shortly after the vote.
According to monthly reports, Marion officers have provided roughly 80 hours per week of coverage for the past several years, responding to 25 to 30 of the typical 40 calls that come into the township each month.
The officers had lobbied to save their department despite supervisors admitting they couldn’t pay what the officers were actually worth. The chief said he cut his budget by 10% and the two-person team accepted pay cuts just because they liked working for Marion Township.
However, Davis said the 850-person town did not have the tax base to sustain a force any longer, adding that taxes would have to rise to keep the department on and equip the officers with vehicles, guns and other tools. Under the new agreement, he said the township will save approximately $20,000 per year for the next five years, including $27,000 next year, without affecting response times.
The money will be set aside for now while the township studies the impacts of the new arrangement. Davis said the contract with New Sewickley includes a 6-month “walk away” notice clause that would include the township getting its police cruiser back.
New Sewickley’s police chief said he would provide the same level of service residents have come to expect and have gotten used to over the past seven years.
The agreement is effective January 1.
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