Yardley Police Study Not On The Table, Council Says

YARDLEY —In early December, after examining the borough's budget, two people asked Borough Council to form a special committee to review merging the police department with neighboring Lower Makefield Township.

With the police department making up 80 percent of the borough's $1.5 million budget, Fred Rabena and Albert Celini, proposed a citizen’s budget committee to conduct a free financial analysis specifically with respect to public safety spending.

That committee will not be considered by the council.

At its meeting earlier this month, borough officials decided to stick with its own police department, saying that police contracts are locked into 2025 and that a cost comparison with same-size towns and police forces shows that Yardley's public safety expenses are cheaper.

"You wanted us to consider contracting out to Lower Makefield," Council President Caroline Thompson said. "That was the ask, getting rid of our police force."

Councilwoman Kim Segal-Morris, who serves on the public safety committee, read a statement at the Feb. 7 meeting saying that Police Chief Joseph Kelly III provides the council with cost-saving measures for police service in terms of grant opportunities and other alternatives.

She said Kelly provides data regarding costs for police departments of similar size in Pennsylvania and that costs are "significantly lower."

"At this time, no further discussion is needed and not currently suggested," she said.

Segal-Morris stated that if the topic comes up again, the council should "take on a robust community outreach component to illicit the will of the public of Yardley."

"We are confident that residents will wish to retain an independent police force," she added.

Thompson said she hoped that such a merger proposal would go before residents in a referendum, but she didn't believe that was possible. If so, she thought residents would want to keep the police force.

Segal-Morris said the police budget never goes unchecked and that the council had no intention of breaking police contracts.

"Outsourcing has a negative connotation," she said, adding that the police department would be hurt by that in terms of recruitment of police officers, especially with a national labor shortage.

Councilman Uri Feiner agreed.

"I've thought about this one. When you look at a budget with the desire to make it smaller, here's the trap," Feiner said. "We have an excellent community-based police force in a one-square-mile borough. If we're a piece of an 18-mile township, we wouldn't be a priority. Let's say we're not getting the services or prices go up, it's essentially a monopoly. We have nowhere to go."

Feiner said there are many benefits to having an independent police force, including that the fact that the "police force knows people who live here."

"I understand the request," Feiner said. "But it would have to be so much lower or it wouldn't be realistic."

Councilman Don Carlson said the council should always examine alternatives. He said the township will conduct a new 10-year comprehensive plan in 2024 and get a lot of input from the community.

Rabena told the council he was not pleased by the decision.

"It was proposed to the council as a financial exercise," he said. "This is not about the chief and not about the police force. It's really about your job. Financial exercise is when you take a look at your costs. You're talking about steps 2 and 3, responsibilities to taxpayers. It's been 10 years since the borough looked at this. This is not us saying get rid of the police. Don't make this request that narrative. It is negligent that you choose not to do the exercise. Public safety is 80 percent of this town's budget. It blows my mind that you don't want to do this exercise. This is about you doing the job, you have a financial responsibility to the taxpayers."

Mayor Chris Harding said the council is always crunching numbers, examining finances, and seeking grants.

"This is what the council does every single year," the mayor said.

Councilman Matt Curtin, who sits on the finance committee, said that Lower Makefield Township would probably just want to bill the borough for police services and wouldn't consider a study.

"Every line item in the chief's budget is gone over with a fine-tooth comb," Thompson said.