ARNOLD, Pa. — An Arnold City Councilman is looking to start discussions with New Kensington to determine whether or not to combine the cities’ independent police departments into one regional police force.
“It just makes sense,” said Arnold City Councilman Aaron Moore.
“We have the same school district. It’s the New Kensington Arnold School District, so that just seems like it would be the next step in what we could to do bring and save both cities money,” Moore told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.
This proposal is in the very early stages. Moore set up an online petition to see if there was support from residents.
As of Friday afternoon, the petition had 55 verified signatures.
“For the police themselves, we can have competitive wages, it would definitely save money when it comes to the police departments, and then more coverage and more community policing,” Moore said.
Some who live in the two towns who agree said it should be considered, especially since some fire and EMS services are already shared.
“Well, I think it ought to be done,” said one New Kensington resident who didn’t share his name. “I think they have to look at the economic conditions and decide, do we reduce the overhead and all of that? I think it’s a positive thing to do this.”
“I think it would be a good idea,” added Shawn Cunningham of New Kensington. “New Kensington and Arnold have always been close-knit. We’re kind of interlapping, so I think it would be a good idea.”
New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said he wants to talk with the City of Arnold.
“I’ll be meeting with Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci and we’ll be discussing the pros and cons most importantly from a safety and crime prevention area, and then from there we’ll look at what are the finances of it, and is it advantageous of both cities to move forward with that,” Guzzo said.
Moore is looking forward to hearing from the community.
“I believe the community should know first and we listen to what they say and take that into consideration before we make a decision on anything,” he said.
If you live in the two communities and would like to learn more or sign the petition, click here.
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