Nazareth Borough wants an outside source to provide police services, and will ask six municipalities -- three of which make up Colonial Regional Police -- to provide a proposal detailing the services available.
Nazareth Borough Council on Monday unanimously approved a motion to send a “Request for Proposal” to Upper Nazareth, Bushkill and Palmer townships. Colonial Regional Police, and each municipality that makes up the department, will also be included.
Nazareth Mayor Fred Daugherty Jr. in December 2011 withdrew his recommendation to buy coverage from Colonial Regional Police after negotiations failed to move forward.
This time around, the borough has guidelines it would like each municipality to keep in mind:
- Three-year contract at a cost not to exceed $2.8 million.
- The borough’s three full-time officers must be added to the police department of the contracting municipality with wages and benefits at least equal to the current Nazareth police contract.
Police Chief -- $67,830
Patrolman (over 6 years) -- $59,660
Patrolman (after 4 years) -- $55,979
- The contracting municipality must agree to lease and operate a substation at 134 S. Main St.
- The contracting municipality agrees to periodic foot patrols in the business district and business checks.
- Nazareth Borough Council shall be permitted to appoint a liaison to attend all Police Committee meetings and receive all correspondence.
The deadline to reply is Dec. 31.
The decision to dig deeper into the option of contracting police services, according to Council President Dan Chiavaroli, was made after merger talks led to a dead end.
Korine Behler, a Nazareth resident who recently has been outspoken on the ongoing policing issue, tried to understand why Council isn’t interested in rebuilding the Nazareth Borough Police Department.
“I think [Police Chief Thomas Trachta is] perfectly capable of making a run of it,” Behler said. “Give him a year. Give him a say with who he’s hiring. I think that should be a big part of it. Is there something I’m missing? Why isn’t [rebuilding the borough’s department] an option? I don’t understand.”
Marlene Stanat echoed Behler’s sentiment.
“Why can’t we just strengthen our own police department,” she wondered. “Our police department is trying to give us coverage. Why rely on other people when we have a police department that’s capable?... We need people who know us. We need people who know the circumstances of Nazareth and know what’s happening in Nazareth. What does [Palmer Township] know about us?”
Councilman Jack Herbst, who is also the chairman of Council's Police Committee, admitted that it remains to be seen if contracting services will save the borough money.
“At this point in time, we don’t know if it will save us money or not,” Herbst said. “It depends on the proposals we get back. Once we get the proposals, we will see what is best for the community.”
If contracting services doesn’t work out, the councilman -- prompted by Behler -- stopped short of saying his colleagues would revisit the idea of rebuilding the borough’s department.
Herbst said, “If it comes back that the services aren’t what we want, then…”
Council will hold a special meeting at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6. The purpose of the meeting is to interview candidates for a seat recently vacated by the Rev. William Matz.
1. What is the purpose in sending proposals to the municipalities that have already contracted with Colonial Regional? Is it to attempt to persuade them to break their contract with Colonial Regional and start a new department with Nazareth? How does the Mayor and Council expect that is going to play out with the decision makers at Colonial Regional? 2. Once again, Nazareth is under the misguided notion that they have the bargaining power to dictate unreasonable terms and tell these other municipalities plus Colonial Regional what they will and will not do. These other municipality and Colonial Regional leaders are not stupid, nor are they blind. They know the dire straights Nazareth's police force is in right now. To demand they hire the Police Chief at just under $68,000 a year is asinine, as is the demand for a lease payment for a substation at City Hall, where the Mayor of Nazareth will be able to inject himself and interfere. 3. The one single thing the Mayor and Council should have made a priority, doesn't even seem to be part of the proposal- two roving patrols of Nazareth Borough, 24 hours a day.
Has the borough ever undergone a forensic audit? It would be interesting to see where the money budgeted for the police was spent. It would be more interesting to see where all the money budgeted for the borough was spent over the last ten years.