(11/13) Carroll Valley Borough Council is looking to avoid a tax increase by decreasing the police department and code enforcement/zoning officer budgets and having all elected officials donate their stipends.

The council Tuesday unanimously approved advertising its proposed 2021 budget. Councilman John Schubring was absent.

Dave Hazlett, the borough’s 15-year manager, said staff usually tries to find trends when preparing the budget but a $200,000 decrease in code inspection revenues made that difficult. The borough’s code enforcement officer was previously subcontracted to Cumberland Township but that agreement ended when the person who most recently held that position resigned.

"We have a bare bones budget," Hazlett told the council.

The council in previous meetings recommended decreasing the police department from four full-time officers to three full-time officers and one officer working 25 hours per week with no benefits, Hazlett said. The police department’s budget was reduced $53,088 from 2020 to 2021, according to the advertised budget proposal.

Reducing the code enforcement/zoning officer position to part-time will save the borough $83,169, according to the proposed budget. The borough will also save $2,100 by Mayor Ron Harris waiving his annual stipend and seven council members forgoing their cumulative $5,700 salaries.

Council members offered very few comments during Tuesday’s meeting beyond thanking staff for their work on the document. It was not the same scene during October’s meeting when council members extensively questioned Borough Police Chief Richard Hileman III about the need for a fourth full-time officer.

In October, council President Richard Mathews said he believes "the primary function of the police department is responding to 9-1-1 calls from our citizens." Hileman told the council the police department also has a role in preventing 9-1-1 calls.

"When an officer-initiated stop happens and they stop and pull over a DUI (driving under the influence) driver at 2 in the morning, it’s not going to appear in your 9-1-1 list or your calls from the public but I guarantee it is one of the most important things we can do," Hileman said. "That is honestly saving lives in our community."

When the department is at full-capacity, they are able to do more patrols which stop DUI drivers before they potentially crash, said Hileman. He reminded the council a local bar invested in a van to transport its patrons because Carroll Valley officers were arresting so many people for DUI.

"That is an impact of our DUI enforcement efforts," Hileman said.

Hileman advised the council to not make decisions based on crime stats.

"To talk specifically about crime is to so miss the point of policing in America. So much of our service to our communities is not ‘I had a crime committed against me, come over and do something about it,’" Hileman said.

Mathews noted the fourth full-time position is currently vacant so reducing the allotment to three will not force the borough to furlough an officer.

"I’m looking at it as right-sizing the police department," he said.

Schubring agreed with Mathews.

"I am not convinced for myself that the police department is that busy to justify a fourth police officer and ask the public to fund a fourth police officer," Schubring said.

Mathews also asked "how do we justify a police department that is costing over a half million dollars to our taxpayers."

"I would tell you, sir, that to try to assume you want a department that is strictly to call volume – so our officers run from call to call to call – is foolish," Hileman said. "Any department that does that is not able to provide the service to its community it should. You are not doing any proactive policing, you are just reacting."

Hileman said his proposal for four full-time officers is based on recommendations from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

Schubring retorted that the DCED model is not specific to Carroll Valley.

"That’s a general interpretation of what we need, not specific to Carroll Valley and that is part of the problem I have," he said.

The DCED model is based on several factors, including population and the borough’s total road mileage, Hileman explained.

"If you say you want to staff policing differently than the recommended methodology in Pennsylvania, that is your choice and you can do that," he said. "I’m telling you, as your police chief, as the guy whose doing this that model is showing we need really a little more than four police officers."

Cutting one full-time officer position as proposed in the advertised budget will reduce the force to "1995 policing levels," Hileman said. "We have a lot more calls now than we did in 1995," said Hileman, who has worked for the department since 1991.

The Carroll Valley Borough Council will meet Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. to adopt the final budget. Citizens will have the opportunity to share public comments before the council votes.