Evening Sun: Berwick approves paying share of Eastern Adams police budget
By SETH GOLDSTEIN
Evening Sun Reporter
The Berwick Township supervisors voted Monday to pay the municipality's share of the Eastern Adams Regional Police Department's 2006 budget.
The vote passed 3-1 with supervisors Bob Myers, Fred Nugent and Earle Black voting in favor of the regional department's budget. Bob Foltz voted against the action and Alan Carey abstained because he owns the complex where the force is stationed.
By approving the police budget, Berwick's contribution increases by about $23,000 to about $201,030 from its 2005 contribution of around $178,000.
With the other two municipalities - Oxford Township and New Oxford Borough - both approving their share of the 2006 police budget, many wondered if Berwick would revisit the issue.
Berwick originally voted against the police budget and elected to disband the department at a special meeting held Dec. 16.
Myers, the former chairman of the police commission and an outspoken proponent of disbanding the force during contract negotiations, said he voted in favor of the police budget because the contract with the police is settled.
"I think we should give (the commission) the opportunity to see if they can change things," he said. "I think (the commission) deserves a chance to make the department work."
The new contract remains in the hands of lawyers for both sides and has yet to be made public.
Black said he thinks that now that the contract is settled, the commission has started to get a good foothold on where it wants to take the department.
"We have a good, viable thing," he said. "So now we have to make it work. The only way we can do that is if (Berwick) agrees to pay its share of the 2006 budget."
Foltz said he voted against approving the township's share because he felt the department could have operated with the township only contributing what it did in 2005.
But Black said if the township didn't approve the budget it would only make things more complex.
"If we only contributed what we did in 2005, Oxford said they would take back their 2006 contributions and would only contribute what they did in 2005," he said. "That would make running the department extremely hard. I think we have a workable situation now."
Nugent said now that the contract with the police union is finalized, it was time for the municipalities to move on.
"Part of moving on involves us passing our portion of the budget," he said. "This is a good opportunity to get the police department working correctly."
Contact Seth Goldstein at sgoldstein@eveningsun.com.
Evening Sun Reporter
The Berwick Township supervisors voted Monday to pay the municipality's share of the Eastern Adams Regional Police Department's 2006 budget.
The vote passed 3-1 with supervisors Bob Myers, Fred Nugent and Earle Black voting in favor of the regional department's budget. Bob Foltz voted against the action and Alan Carey abstained because he owns the complex where the force is stationed.
By approving the police budget, Berwick's contribution increases by about $23,000 to about $201,030 from its 2005 contribution of around $178,000.
With the other two municipalities - Oxford Township and New Oxford Borough - both approving their share of the 2006 police budget, many wondered if Berwick would revisit the issue.
Berwick originally voted against the police budget and elected to disband the department at a special meeting held Dec. 16.
Myers, the former chairman of the police commission and an outspoken proponent of disbanding the force during contract negotiations, said he voted in favor of the police budget because the contract with the police is settled.
"I think we should give (the commission) the opportunity to see if they can change things," he said. "I think (the commission) deserves a chance to make the department work."
The new contract remains in the hands of lawyers for both sides and has yet to be made public.
Black said he thinks that now that the contract is settled, the commission has started to get a good foothold on where it wants to take the department.
"We have a good, viable thing," he said. "So now we have to make it work. The only way we can do that is if (Berwick) agrees to pay its share of the 2006 budget."
Foltz said he voted against approving the township's share because he felt the department could have operated with the township only contributing what it did in 2005.
But Black said if the township didn't approve the budget it would only make things more complex.
"If we only contributed what we did in 2005, Oxford said they would take back their 2006 contributions and would only contribute what they did in 2005," he said. "That would make running the department extremely hard. I think we have a workable situation now."
Nugent said now that the contract with the police union is finalized, it was time for the municipalities to move on.
"Part of moving on involves us passing our portion of the budget," he said. "This is a good opportunity to get the police department working correctly."
Contact Seth Goldstein at sgoldstein@eveningsun.com.
