Doylestown Township to Hold Public Meetings on Regional Police Plan

Doylestown Township will hold back-to-back public meetings on February 2 to unveil details of a state study that recommends merging four Central Bucks County police departments. 

Township Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night to hold the meetings, one at 5 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m. at the township building on Wells Road to accommodate what might be an unusually large crowd. Police Chief Stephen White will present the plan, which was developed by the Governor's Center for Local Government Services, part of the Department of Community & Economic Development.

 “We need to take hold of the costs of law enforcement,” said White, a member of the township police force for 37 years, including the last 23 as chief. “We have to use taxpayers' money to the best of our ability.” 

The other municipalities involved with the plan – Doylestown Borough, New Britain Borough and Warwick Township – will hold similar public meetings around the same time, said White. The study suggests they could save money and provide better-coordinated and more consistent police protection if they unified into one regional force. 

With nine police departments serving residents of the Central Bucks School District, White said there is an unnecessary duplication of efforts. The explosive growth of the population in central Bucks over the last decade, combined with the evolving nature of crime, demands more innovative approaches to law enforcement, said White. 

“We have nine police chiefs, nine detective units, nine juvenile divisions, nine highway safety units,” he said. “We can offset some of the increases expected over the next 10, 15 or 20 years” with regionalization. 

After the public meetings – supervisors chair Barbara Lyons said there could be several to ensure all residents can participate – the next step will be to apply for a state grant to begin implementing the plan if everyone is on board, said White.

While critics might complain that a large regional force will negate the benefits of community policing, White said residents will benefit from contact with officers from other departments. 

Lee Schwarz, a member of the township’s Ways and Means Committee, said he wants assurances that the township won’t be financially burdened by the move. The study suggests Doylestown Township has the least to gain by a merger, he said.

A comparison of what the four municipalities pay now, versus the share they would pay for a regional force in 2012, shows Doylestown Borough saving about $11,000 and Doylestown Township saving about $18,000. New Britain Borough, though, is estimated to save $102,592 and Warwick Township, $246,978. 

Township solicitor Jeff Garton nixed a suggestion from an audience member to put the merger as a ballot question in the May primary, saying it is not permitted under election law.

“We will hold as many community meetings as necessary to make sure everyone is informed,” said Lyons.

The study calls for the proposed Central Bucks Regional Police Department to have a budget of about $8.6 million. Costs could be divided based on population, number of reported crimes, and the number of calls for service in each municipality. 

The state's proposal establishes a regional police force of 55 officers and 9 civilian staff members, for a total of 64. The four departments now have 62 officers and 7 clerical staff, for a total of 69. 

The study recommends eliminating seven officers' jobs and creating two new clerical jobs, for a net loss of five jobs. Three of those five jobs would be the chiefs, since the new department would need only one chief. 

But one of those four chiefs' jobs already is vacant and two will be soon. 

New Britain Borough has been without a chief since this past summer when Don Bowers resigned to become chief in New Holland, PA. Doylestown Borough Chief Jim Donnelly is acting as chief in the neighboring borough. 

In Doylestown Township, White is retiring, probably in 2012, and Warwick's Chief Joe Costello is expected to retire this year. 

White said regionalization can help the departments make the most of what they've got by pooling their resources, making better use of tax funding and going after grants that are only available to those larger, regional forces.

 "There are some great police officers throughout these departments," he said, "and I think we can really make a difference in the way these services are delivered."