West Leechburg residents will soon go from having a local police officer available only occasionally to 24/7 coverage.
Starting in March, Allegheny Township will provide around-the-clock coverage to the 1.2-square-mile borough for roughly the cost of what West Leechburg is paying to keep its three-officer force going on a part-time basis.
Residents can expect a major upgrade in terms of responsiveness. Between three part-time officers, the borough’s in-house force logs a combined 60 hours of service — a month.
Veteran Alle-Kiski Valley officer and former Arnold Chief William “Willie” Weber serves as part-time administrative chief. He did not return a request for comment.
“Many times, if we did have something that actually needed an immediate response, Allegheny Township was coming over for that,” West Leechburg Council President Marcia Cole said.
In effect, the annual cost of the five-year agreement starts at $38,500, and, by 2029, reaches $43,000.
No tax increases will be needed to pay for this, according to borough officials.
Those figures account for Allegheny Township paying off a police cruiser, guns and other gear acquired from West Leechburg.
“We had to weigh the pros and the cons, while giving the residents what they are paying for within their taxes,” said Kayla Visnovsky, borough secretary. “I think if we had the option to have more part-time officers, that might have been an answer.”
West Leechburg officials cited limited funds, a competitive hiring environment and a lack of modern equipment as reasons for effectively disbanding their police department.
As Visnovsky understands it, once the borough’s federal identifying number is retired, it’s exceedingly difficult to bring it back into service.
In a sit-down interview with TribLive, Allegheny Township Police Chief Dan Uncapher explained his plan to take on an additional 1,300 or so residents with the same 12 officers as before.
West Leechburg will see at least one patrol per shift. All services provided to Allegheny Township residents will be available to those living in West Leechburg.
Furthermore, the West Leechburg police station will essentially go dormant.
The three part-time officers put out of a job by the contract are welcome to apply to join Allegheny Township’s force, Uncapher said.
West Leechburg police received just under 300 calls last year. Allegheny Township’s call count came in at more than 6,000.
“I anticipate the actual call volume to go up now that they have a service that will respond quickly,” Uncapher said.
The agreement comes after years of talks between the communities and brief interest from West Leechburg in joining a failed regionalization effort with several Armstrong County communities.
A preliminary study through the state Department of Economic and Community Development put West Leechburg’s annual contribution to a hypothetical merged department at $120,000.
A little over a year ago, the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department proposed a one-year, $51,000 contract.
West Leechburg officials haven’t quite decided whether the deal with Allegheny Township is a stopgap or long-term solution.
Cole hasn’t rule out regionalization, though “it’s just so hard to get different municipalities on the same page,” she said.
And with the school district being forced to raise taxes on West Leechburg residents each year by the State Tax Equalization Board, Cole said she’s especially mindful of asking residents to pitch in more for police coverage.
Regardless of its longevity, Allegheny Township officials are embracing the opportunity.
“We have worked for quite a long time for this agreement with West Leechburg to come to fruition,” Allegheny Township Supervisor Jamie Morabito said. “This is just another example of communities working together for the greater benefit of all residents.”
And to Uncapher, it’s a “chance to showcase our talent to another community.”