Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Early numbers show Levittown-area communities spent more than $89,000 on the papal visit weekend.
Bristol Township, Middletown and Tullytown all had SEPTA train stations where people picked up express Regional Rail service to Center City, Philadelphia to see the pope.
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Here’s what local officials told us their communities spent on the papal weekend:
- Bristol Township: $12,000 to $15,000
- Middletown: $65,000
- Tullytown: $12,000
- Bucks County: $20,000
The money was mostly spent on labor costs connected to bringing in extra police, emergency management officials, public works and other employees. The papal weekend cost is added to the hours officials have spent over the summer planning for Pope Francis’ two-day visit to the Philadelphia region.
In Middletown, employee costs for the weekend totaled $55,000, Township Manager Stephanie Teoli Kuhls said.
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While the Philadelphia Inquirer reports Pennsylvania legislators are working to grant $5 million to split between towns burdened by the papal visit, local emergency management officials said they were not aware of any planned reimbursement. The World Meeting of Families, a Catholic nonprofit which organized the pope’s visit, will reimburse Philadelphia for their costs.
The figures from the county and towns do not include the cost to agencies like the CSX Police Department, National Guard, Secret Service, SEPTA and other agencies who assisted during the papal weekend in Bucks County.
Credit: Submitted
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Some resources used by the three towns were brought in from Bucks County and Pennsylvania, costing taxpayers nothing more than the price of fuel. Scott Forester, Bucks County director of emergency services, said light towers, signs and barricades used by the county were all provided at no cost by the state.
In summer, officials planned for much larger crowds at the train stations and even problems on highways like I-95 and Route 1. As the papal visit grew closer, train ticket sales were below expectations and planning officials backed off projected highway backups.
“The low tickets sales resulted in our plans being downgraded to a police traffic control event solely,” said Bristol Township Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator Kevin Dippolito.
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Throughout the Philadelphia region, Middletown’s Woodbourne Train Station was among the more crowed Regional Rail stops during the weekend but did not even come close to selling out of passes.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
“Planning for public safety events such as this requires accurate information and in a timely manner. We planned accordingly and scaled back resources upon verification that the impact was going to be minimal,” Tullytown Chief of Police Daniel Doyle told LevittownNow.com.
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Emergency management officials said the papal weekend provided a real-life situation where their training paid off.
“I think we did a great job of getting all municipal partners around the table during early planning meetings. The event was well coordinated from our Emergency Operations Center. It wound up being a Philly/SEPTA event and Bucks really did not experience the road gridlock we were anticipating,” Bucks County spokesman Chris Edwards said.
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Edwards, along with many at the area train stations, praised local first responders for their handling of the influx of pilgrims.
