East Bethlehem to disband its small police department
FREDERICKTOWN – East Bethlehem Township commissioners have decided to disband the rural municipality’s unionized police department in an attempt to save money in the low-income area, the township said in a statement released this week.
The board also notified the Teamsters Local 585 in Washington last week the decision was reached May 10 to contract with a local regional police department to patrol the township, public records show.
“This decision has been made for purely economic reasons and will result in substantial budgetary savings to the township and its taxpayers,” East Bethlehem board Chairman Joseph M. Swinchock stated in a June 1 letter to the union.
Township police Chief Mark Pompe is the only full-time officer in the department. He and a few part-time officers provide patrols 56 hours a week. The township spends about $100,000 a year to staff the police department, and it has met with difficulty in finding part-time officers to fill the schedule.
The Teamsters has a contract extension with the township that expires at the end of this year, said the union’s representative, John Bedillion. The letter from East Bethlehem to the union indicates the contract extension will be terminated Aug. 15.
Bedillion said the union’s legal department is reviewing the township’s decision to disband its police department.
East Bethlehem is drafting an ordinance to disband the department.
The township indicated the June 1 letter to the union was received more than the 60-day requirement outlined in the contract.
“Police service will be provided at even greater levels for less cost. Our citizens deserve as much,” the township stated.
It did not name the regional police department that will be patrolling East Bethlehem.
Questions were referred to township solicitor Blaine Black of Monongahela, who could not be reached Wednesday.