Negotiations continue between O’Hara and Blawnox officials to merge police departments.
Managers from both municipalities confirmed that pensions were examined and weekly talks now are planned.
The plan is to have Blawnox officers become township police and serve under Superintendent Jay Davis.
“The first step in the process was to perform an actuarial study of each municipality’s police pension plan to see if the combining of the plans was feasible,” towship Manager Julie Jakubec said in an email. “It appears that the police pension plans are compatible and fully funded. The next step in the process is to begin working on agreements between the municipalities on the combination.”
O’Hara and Blawnox police respond to calls in both towns as part of their mutual aid agreements.
Blawnox has four officers while O’Hara has 15, all full time.
Both communities previously approved a conflict of interest waiver for the law firm Campbell Durrant regarding police services. Its attorneys represent both communities.
No other formal actions have been taken by the respective councils. No other information about the negotiations have been released.
However, both managers were complimentary about the process.
“It’s all positive,” Blawnox Manager Kathy Ulanowicz said of the negotiations. “So far, everything is positive. We won’t know what’s going to happen until the talks continue.”
Blawnox Council’s next voting session is at 6:30 p.m. May 8, while O’Hara’s is at 7 p.m. May 14.
Michael DiVittorio is a TribLive reporter covering general news in Western Pennsylvania, with a penchant for festivals and food. He can be reached at mdivittorio@triblive.com.