Police regionalization on the table in Kiski Township ahead of Southern Armstrong presentation

Kiski Township is the latest municipality to consider folding its police force into the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department.

Southern Armstrong police officers and the department’s commissioners will hold an information session with Kiski Township police Chief Lee Bartolicius at 7 p.m. Monday at the Kiski Township Municipal Building.

The town hall meeting will start with a presentation from the departments, followed by a question-and-answer session for residents and township supervisors.

Southern Armstrong police Chief Chris Fabec hopes to address “misinformation” circulating online about the costs and staffing changes that would result from a merger.

“This gives the chance to hear it directly without third-party inaccuracies,” Fabec said.

Gilpin, Freeport and Ford City merged their police forces from late 2022 into early 2023 to form the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department. The department is governed by a seven-member commission with two representatives from each municipality, plus a tie-breaker position that rotates among the communities.

Kiski Township also would get representation on the department’s commission if it joins.

The Southern Armstrong commissioners would have to approve Kiski Township joining, as would the Kiski Township supervisors.

Fabec said Kiski Township would save at least $200,000 while gaining access to a drone program, an accident reconstruction team, two K-9 units and officers certified in weights and measures.

In turn, Kiski Township could offer its specialized resources in investigations, Bartolicius said.

Southern Armstrong would go from 15 officers, including 11 full-timers, to 22 officers in a merger. Kiski Township employs four full-time officers, including Bartolicius, and three part-timers.

Kiski Township’s police station would become a substation.

Kiski Township already leans on Southern Armstrong’s resources at times, meaning it “wouldn’t be much of a transition,” Fabec said.

Not all Kiski Township officials, however, are ready to sign off on the merger.

“Some members of the board would like to slow it down, review all options, and others would like to fast-track it,” said Brittany Hilliard, chair of the township supervisors. “I also think there’s an option to keep our police … intact without regionalizing.”

Hilliard hopes to first complete a free study through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development on the feasibility of regionalizing, just as West Leechburg, Leechburg and Parks Township have done. Officials of those municipalities have yet to make a final decision on their merger.

North Apollo, which contracts police coverage from Kiski Township, withdrew from the study with West Leechburg, Leechburg and Parks Township before its completion.

Bartolicius said the existing contract with North Apollo would be honored through this year if Kiski Township joins Southern Armstrong, at which point the borough would have a few options.

“Depending on what they wanted to do moving forward, they could either engage in contractual obligations with Southern Armstrong or they could explore options of actually joining the regional,” Bartolicius said.

Bringing 24/7 police coverage to town is a selling point for many communities eyeing regionalization. Although Kiski Township does not have this problem, regionalizing would increase its coverage.

“The manpower that we intend on having in Kiski Township is going to be even more than my department currently services,” Bartolicius said.

The department has two officers on shift for eight hours a day. A merger would extend that to 20 hours a day, Bartolicius said.

Less than two years ago, the department had just one officer: Bartolicius, who got help from the Apollo-Ridge School District resource officer and state police after a string of resignations in the township.

Rebuilding the department came with substantial costs, including more overtime, leading township officials to seek money-saving solutions.

“There’s been a lot of excessive spending by our police department the last several years,” Hilliard said.

Mary Long, vice chair of the Kiski Township supervisors, said the township anticipates a deficit come budget season and will need to make cuts to the police department. That doesn’t necessarily mean fewer officers, she said.

Joining Southern Armstrong would prevent tax increases, Supervisor Chuck Rodnicki said. He supports regionalization, though would like to see some more information before making a decision.

“The money we’re going to save, it’s going to forgo tax increases, barring anything out of the ordinary,” Rodnicki said.

If Kiski Township opts to join, it will owe an annual fee to Southern Armstrong calculated by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Long also would like to see more specifics on how Kiski Township could back out of an arrangement with Southern Armstrong, if desired.

“I’m definitely keeping an open mind,” Long said. “I just want to see what the public has to say.”