Following up on something mentioned here at the Nest yesterday, Democratic state Rep. John Pallone is poised to introduced legislation that would charge municipalities who are covered by state police to pay a fee:
The legislation would impose a $100 per resident assessment on municipalities with populations of more than 10,000 to help cover the cost of having state police provide law enforcement services. Pallone said there are about 21 such communities across the state.
“My bill would generate about $40 million, which could be used to hire 4,000 additional state troopers, increasing public safety for all Pennsylvania residents,” Pallone said. “In his budget address, Governor Rendell suggested we look at imposing fees on municipalities relying on state police for local police protection, and called it a good idea. I am hoping his comment will help move this legislation forward once it’s reintroduced.”
Of course, the opposition would say they already pay for state police in the form of state taxes. Therefor, to impose an additional fee would be to tax the citizens twice.
The trouble for state lawmakers and township supervisors is the cost of training, equipping and employing law enforcement is getting more and more expensive. It has for about 15 years, especially as health care insurance skyrocketed. Look at any municipal budget from boroughs to townships, and you will find a huge hunk of the spending pie is taken up by police services. It’s breaking budgets. And the issue may be reaching a breaking point.
