Leechburg forges ahead with regional police plans; state study supports move

Leechburg officials are moving forward with efforts to regionalize their police force with West Leechburg and Parks Township.

A regional police study was completed in December, and it recommended consolidating the departments. Officials met Jan. 11 to review the study results.

“The biggest thing is the coverage and the assistance to the other officers,” Leechburg Councilman Alan Tarr said. “There’s a lot of things to be considered — benefits, pensions, ranks, and everything that’s involved.”

The free study took several months to complete and was conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

“This is what they do. The study gives us their recommendations, not that we have to follow them, but it’s a starting point,” Leechburg Mayor Doreen Smeal said.

Officials from Parks Township and West Leechburg did not respond to requests for comment.

The regionalization goal will satisfy two main objectives: It will provide 24/7 police coverage and protect officers by providing more officers and equipment.

The municipalities are forming their respective steering committees to conduct their own recommendations.

Leechburg’s regionalization committee consists of Tarr, Smeal and Councilmen John Mrvan and D.J. Zelczak.

“There’s still a lot of questions for us to answer,” Smeal said. “There’s some things in here we’re not real happy about and other things we’re very happy about.”

Smeal said she was disappointed the study didn’t recommend provisions for 24/7 police coverage without assistance from state police.

“It’s just like now: we still need to depend on state police after shifts when we don’t have anyone,” Smeal said.

The steering committees are tasked with scheduling upcoming meetings to address issues pertaining to the proposed merger.

Last year, Zelczak mailed regionalization participation invitations to West Leechburg, East Vandergrift, Hyde Park, Vandergrift, Apollo, Allegheny Township and Oklahoma Borough.

North Apollo had expressed an interest in participating in the study but later dropped out.

Pennsylvania has the most police departments in the country, more than 1,100, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

There are more than 35 regional police departments representing more than 125 municipalities in the state.

Police departments are a significant part of local government operations, second only to education, according to data from usafacts.org.

The most recent police regionalization in the Alle-Kiski Valley occurred in October 2022 with Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department, the result of a merger among Gilpin, Ford City and Freeport.

In 2019, Cheswick and Springdale Township merged to form the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department.

Gilpin Supervisor Charles Stull said that since the formation of the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department, Gilpin saved about $58,000 in police operational costs last year.

“While monetary savings is great, the increased protection of our participating communities is huge,” Stull said.

Stull added that a standing offer remains to Parks Township and Leechburg should they choose to consider merging with Southern Armstrong.

“We’re always happy to sit down and determine a cost for each municipality as well as what (Southern Armstrong) has to offer, including a place on the (Southern Armstrong) commission, 24/7 coverage, a large force and community-based policing,” Stull said.

If the merger happens between Leechburg, West Leechburg and Parks Township, the new department would cross Armstrong and Westmoreland county lines and would be the second regional police department that includes Armstrong County communities.

Tarr said the committees will “take months” to work on the proposed regionalization plans before any proposed merger can be brought to a vote in each municipality. He is hopeful it will happen this year.

The biggest benefit for Leechburg would apply to staffing, Tarr said.

“We would have two officers on a shift,” he said. “Now, it’s one per shift.”

A name for the proposed regionalized force hasn’t been decided.

Regionalized police departments with populations of 4,500 to 8,500 residents in Western Pennsylvania include Ligonier Valley, Eastern Adams, Southern Armstrong, Charleroi Area and Conneaut Lake.

Leechburg and Parks Township police departments have an annual budget of about $665,000, with a cost per officer of $102,308, according to the study.

The study recommended Leechburg Police Department serve as the headquarters for a regionalized force.

“I hope it’s feasible and, yes, we would like to save some money,” Tarr said, “but it’s about officer safety and having more people out on duty to back up each other.”

Police departments interested in joining the regionalization plan are asked to email emc@leechburgborough.org.