At Monday night's meeting of the Douglass Township Board of Supervisors, Police Chief Robert Evans announced the police department's re-accreditation. The Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program is a proven way to assist law enforcement agencies to evaluate and improve their service to the community.

            The police accreditation program was created to provide a strategy for maintaining the professionalization of law enforcement agencies within the Commonwealth. The accreditation program is administered by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. The agency is responsible for the inspection and review of accredited police departments every three years.

            Sgt. Matthew Swavely managed of the assessment and was instrumental in the department's re-accreditation. Evans thanked Swavely for his work in the process.

            There are approximately 1,100 police departments in Pennsylvania, out of which 126 departments are accredited. Douglass police is just one of 10 departments to earn a premier accreditation.

            The benefits to accreditation include the reduction of department risks, including lawsuits, the improvement of community relations, the prosecution of criminal acts, and methods to improve management procedures.

            A public hearing was also held on Monday night regarding a codification ordinance. The drafted ordinance was reviewed by the Montgomery County Planning Commission. The objective of the ordinance was to codify ordinances into one place for residents to access easily when planning projects.

            "This brings Douglass Township into the modern age," Solicitor Wendy McKenna said.

            The ordinance was adopted by the board that evening.

"A lot of work went into this," Vice Chairman Sara Carpenter said. The newly adopted codification ordinance is available to residents on the website or at the township office.

            In other news, the board proceeded with a loan application through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This included a request for authorization for the township to solicit proposals to finance administration building renovations. Part of the pre-loan process consists of submitting meeting minutes to the USDA.

            In addition, it also includes contacting other financial institutions about financing options and the comparison of loan rates. Updates on the application and the progress of the building renovations will be provided at future meetings.

            It was also announced that two executive sessions were held. One was held on May 11 following police candidate interviews. Personnel and real estate matters were also discussed. The second session was held on May 14 regarding personnel and potential litigation matters. No action was taken after either meeting