Mar 3, 2020 3 min read

Donegal Township is no longer providing police services to neighboring Buffalo Township, and told Buffalo residents that they should contact state police “for the time being.”

Donegal solicitor Lane Turturice learned last week that Donegal had a contract more than three years ago to provide police services to Buffalo Township, but after it expired, the police protection continued.

“The prior board of supervisors was under the impression that the contract automatically renewed each year, but that’s not how it was written,” Turturice said in an interview Monday.

Donegal auditors triggered a review, according to Turturice.

In a letter to President Judge Katherine B. Emery, the solicitor provided background on the chain of events, which began with a six-month agreement in December 2015. The agreement lasted for six months but allowed for a one-year extension, which took effect through June 30, 2017. Throughout the time Donegal police were responding to Buffalo Township on a scheduled basis, state police also had jurisdiction there.

The agreement with Donegal also stated, “There shall be no further extensions thereafter unless and until” the parties execute a new agreement.

According to Turturice’s letter to the president judge, a new agreement was never executed, but Donegal police continued to provide protection without interruption to Buffalo until last Wednesday.

Turturice said the absence of an agreement calls “into question Donegal’s right, power and authority to enforce laws in Buffalo Township.”

He also said Donegal has a duty to alert the courts and the general public about the situation because “it might have negative implications on the prosecution and disposition of cases by the courts from July 1, 2017, to Feb. 26” of this year.

District Attorney Gene Vittone was also sent a copy of the letter, and on Monday, his first assistant, Dennis Paluso, said he requested additional information from Turturice about whether the townships are still paying and receiving money monthly for police services.

“Preliminarily, is appears these municipalities thought they had a legitimate police coverage agreement,” Paluso said.

He noted that the district attorney’s office had not gotten any requests from defendants to review convictions, nor had he further discussed the matter broached by the Donegal solicitor.

Donegal, Turturice said, “is working swiftly with Buffalo Township to address the absence of a valid agreement and to negotiate a new agreement,” and that Donegal intends to resume police protection of Buffalo residents and businesses. He said he’s hopeful an agreement will be made by the end of the month.

Jim Arbore, a Buffalo Township supervisor, said the negotiations from their end are with the township’s solicitor, Dennis Makel. He said the supervisors had reappointed the Donegal Police Department to continue serving Buffalo in January.

“I was actually surprised to see that it was a problem,” Arbore said Monday. “To me, that was our commitment to the Donegal Township police force – that we had agreed to extend their contract. We’re kind of just on hold right now until the legal people figure it out.”

Turturice said the township is still working on negotiations with the Donegal police union, after the township filed a complaint in court to void the new police contract that was approved in December before new supervisors came on board. He said the township isn’t recognizing the December contract, and instead, is operating under the former expired contract.

“The township would like to see the union void that contract and negotiate a new contract,” Turturice said. “We’re hoping to agree to do that so we can avoid any unnecessary litigation.”