Wrightsville pays less, gets more in deal with Hellam Township Police

More than a decade ago, Wrightsville severed its relationship with Hellam Township Police, establishing its own force; but the years that followed were marred by coverage gaps and poor management, according to Wrightville Council President Eric White.

But that was then. On Monday, the Wrightsville Borough Council voted unanimously, 6-0, to approve a new contract between the borough and Hellam Township for 24-7 police coverage, White said. 

"We never really had 24-hour service, and it was costing the taxpayers a lot of money," White said Tuesday. "It made sense to pay less money and have 24-hour service."

White said for the period of the contract — beginning July 1, 2018, and lasting until 2021 — Wrightsville residents will see a savings of nearly $400,000. The money saved will most likely be used on infrastructure, White said.

The three Wrightsville officers — Steve Crater, Adam Schaum and Mike Carpenter — will be hired by Hellam Township Police, with an increase in pay and no loss of their pension and benefits, White said. 

"They're excited, we're excited," Hellam Township Police Chief Doug Pollock said Tuesday. "It's going to be better for both communities." 

Coming together

In order for the new contract to become a reality, there were several threads that had to come together, White said. 

"It (the police department) wasn't managed very well, which, as you will recall, resulted in firing our police chief last year," White said.

In addition, the complexion of the council was fundamentally changed when four new council members came on board in the November, through election, resignations and replacement, White said.

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White and vice president Mike Gromling, the two remaining members, had been against keeping then-chief Ron Hege and increasing his salary.

The new members were able to understand "it was not feasible to continue and the citizens were not getting the coverage they thought they were paying for," White said.

Even once Hege was gone, and the department was able to stay within budget, "We were heading for a cliff because the union contract was going to be coming up for renewal and the taxpayers were at the limits of what they could pay," White said.

Changes

The new contract is a return of sorts for Pollock himself — he remembers as a Hellam Township Police officer patrolling Wrightsville.

And even when there was a separation between the two departments, the two continued to work together, responding to each other's calls as back-up, he said.

Although the Wrightsville officers are familiar with Hellam Township Police, there will be some changes for them, Pollock said.

"They're going to be treated like new officers, they'll go through field training ... getting integrated into our system (finding out) what I expect from my guys," he said. "The Wrightsville guys have already started going to classes I wanted them to have."

White said Wrightsville's mayor, Michael Albert, will communicate directly with the board that oversees the Hellam Township Police Department.

The three officers boosts Hellam Township Police's roster to 12, and gives the new officers a more stable environment with more opportunity for advancement and diversity of training and skills, Pollock said.

Hellam Township also has a full-time, highly-trained detective, which will benefit the citizens of Wrightsville as well in terms of a deeper investigation of cases when needed, he said.

Contact Ted Czech at 717-771-2033. 

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