Following the pledge of allegiance and the call to order by Robert McCluskie, East Greenville's three members confirmed their presence at Monday's Upper Perk Police Commission meeting.

                But the roll call did not include any Pennsburg representatives. So without a quorum, McCluskie, a member of East Greenville's Borough Council and chair of the commission, announced that the August meeting could not continue.

                According to Kris Kirkwood, Pennsburg Borough Council president and the vice chair of the commission, individual scheduling conflicts prevented any of the municipal representatives – which included Kirkwood, Robert Seville, Mayor Vicki Lightcap and alternate Bruce Lord – from attending the monthly meeting.

                "None of us are available," Kirkwood said Monday afternoon.

                Kirkwood said the absences had nothing to do with a vote one week earlier by Pennsburg's council, which requested the removal of Phil Gazan as the commission's solicitor and declared that its members would not vote to pay any bills submitted by the solicitor.

                On Monday night, East Greenville Mayor Ryan Sloyer said he didn't care about the neighboring community's reason for missing the meeting. "It's not worth my energy to try and figure it out," he said.

                Sloyer accused the Pennsburg commission members of negligence for failing to show up.

                According to Kirkwood, Pennsburg officials contacted East Greenville officials twice last week about the conflicts. He said they asked about rescheduling the meeting to pay the police department's bills.

                "East Greenville refused to reschedule the meeting," Kirkwood said Monday afternoon.

                McCluskie confirmed that the neighboring community called to alert East Greenville officials about a potential scheduling conflict. He said the Pennsburg contingent gave no reason for its absences.

                Sloyer chastised Pennsburg for waiting for the last minute since the meeting has been scheduled since last November.

                "The ball is in Pennsburg's court," the mayor said. "This is not a dictatorship. It's a two-way street. East Greenville will not be intimidated. Pennsburg needs to act like a partner."

                McCluskie said he asked Pennsburg to send just one member to the meeting so the commission could have paid all the bills.

                "We could have paid all the bills in a five-minute meeting," he said.

                According to Sloyer, a handful of bills connected to the police department's contract – such as payroll for the officers, Chief Michael Devlin and the secretary – are paid automatically.

                He said the commission's inaction has left several bills – which includes commercial insurance, cleaning, vehicle maintenance, office supplies, restroom supplies, utilities and rent – unpaid.

                Kirkwood expressed concern that the relationship between the commission members continues to deteriorate.

                "We're trying to improve the situation," he said. "But we're not getting anywhere with East Greenville. At this point, I'm not sure what to do. They don't want to discuss anything. All they want to do is point fingers and make accusations. How can we work with that?"

                On Monday night, McCluskie refused to accept any personal responsibility, as head of the commission, to create any solutions.

                "I am just a facilitator," he said.

                The Upper Perk Police District responded to 47 total crimes in July, according to information provided by the commission. Thirty-two of the incidents occurred in Pennsburg, the information states.

                They included 10 borough ordinance/other offenses, eight thefts/motor vehicle thefts, seven DUIs, six assault/harassment/stalking and six narcotic/drug violations.