Penndel Borough’s chief of police has some concerns over the preliminary 2015 budget that was passed Thursday night.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The proposed $1.18 million operating budget includes a tax increase of roughly $190 for the average assessed property. Council members stressed that the budget was only preliminary.
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Chief Joseph Sciscio said during Thursday night’s special council meeting that he was “concerned” for public and officer safety after some manpower cuts were proposed. The cuts likely wouldn’t get rid of any of the borough’s part-time officers, but would cut back on the amount of hours police have for patrol work and court hearings.
The chief said Penndel can’t always rely on surrounding part-time departments like Langhorne, Langhorne Manor and Hulmeville to back up the officers of the 24/7 department. Officers from surrounding boroughs aren’t always on shift when Penndel officers are.
The chief was looking to have several hours during the day where two officers had shifts that overlapped. He said the move would allow officers to have a back up and get more paperwork done.
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While the budget shows a slight bump to the police budget, contractually obligated police salary increases and other fixed costs eat all of that money.
Sciscio said he tried to meet the council in the middle on hours allotted for police work. In order to maintain a proactive department, the chief stated he needs more hours so officers can handle investigations.
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“We have pride in doing more with less and we’re always under budget,” Sciscio told the council.
The council is expected to vote on the budget at a 7:30 p.m. meeting on December 22.
