The argument for or against hiring another full-time police officer in Marlborough Township will be decided by the municipality’s properly elected officials – the board of supervisors. That decision will come with plenty of pros and cons on both sides of the issue.
The one-time four-officer police department was depleted in 2007 with the departure of Officer Michael Bramlett. Due to budget and other concerns, township officials opted to hold off replacing the fourth officer at that time and instead operated a three-officer department. Then, with the retirement of long-time police Lt. Frank Buza in 2009, officials added Officer Ted Baird to keep the department at its three-officer level.
For the past two months, Officer Baird has been off duty due to a work-related injury, leaving the department with Chief Ray Fluck and Officer Darren Morgan to patrol the streets and roads of Marlborough Township. Yes, the Pennsylvania State Police are available to help out when Fluck and Morgan are off duty, but we must remember that they are spread thin with their own responsibilities and those in other area municipalities.
Being a police officer doesn’t start when you get in the patrol car and end when you step back out at the end of your shift. In between there’s reports, forms and phone calls. There are court appearances, investigations, interviews and mandatory re-certifications. One driving under the influence arrest will immediately tie up an officer for at least half a day. Preparing a case for a hearing can take days. Completing an accident report will keep an officer off the road for several hours. The list goes on and on. The bottom line is that there is a lot more to a police officer’s day than what we see or think we know.
The addition of another full-time police officer in Marlborough Township will fill a temporary need in the short term and bring the department back to a pre-2008 staffing level in the long term.
Now the question is: How are you going to pay for the additional officer? The budget is already tight and to transfer funding from other emergency services to pay for the patrolman will do nothing more than pass the shortage from one public need to another.
You can cut back on mowing the grass in some of the open space areas but that won’t save you anything close to the price of a police officer.
That means supervisors will have to take a hard look at whether or not to raise taxes or institute fees for certain township services. For that decision, they need to turn to the people who will be affected most – the residents and taxpayers. Common courtesy in these dire economic times almost mandate it.
Neither side should wait for the issue to solve itself or go away (it will do neither). Supervisors must invite the sound advice of their constituents and constituents must not wait for their advice to be solicited. Attend the meetings and voice your opinion. R esidents and taxpayers must not be afraid or ashamed to ask questions, offer solutions or put their name on a petition – for or against.
This is an important decision and leaders can seek the advice of professionals and listen to opinions from neighboring municipalities.
But remember, when a decision is made, it will be made by Marlborough Township officials, hopefully with input from Marlborough Township residents and taxpayers.