Possible closure of Jenkintown police department worries residents

The Borough of Jenkintown could soon be without its own police force.

Officials in the Montgomery County community of about 4,700, citing budget constraints, are considering eliminating the 134-year-old Jenkintown Police Department and outsourcing that work to neighboring municipalities.

Should Jenkintown dissolve its force, it would be among a growing number of small-town police departments that have been shut down across the country in recent years.

Jenkintown leaders are adamant that the department’s $2.5 million annual expenditure in the borough’s budget — about 51% of its spending — will make it unsustainable to maintain a force over the next 10 to 15 years.

The plan to shut the 11-officer department is not final.

Still, the proposal to possibly contract police work with neighboring Abington and Cheltenham Townships’ departments was met with fierce opposition from both the union representing Jenkintown’s police and residents, concerned over what ending the force could mean for public safety in the tight-knit community.

More than 100 Jenkintown residents showed up Monday night at a community meeting with local leaders to discuss the future of the force.

What began as a presentation from Jenkintown Police Chief Tom Scott about the force’s financial burden — Scott was hired in 2022 and told the audience that previous administrations had contributed to mismanagement — turned into tense public questioning as residents demanded that borough council do whatever possible to preserve the department.

“We’re more concerned with pinching pennies than the quality and well-being of our people,” said Jenkintown business owner Andrew Edelman. According to borough leaders, modernizing the department in the coming years would cost an additional $500,000, in addition to contractual salary increases.

Other neighbors spoke highly of Jenkintown officers who have forged relationships with locals. They said they believe that outsourcing police work would weaken those ties, while also resulting in slower response times. Although the borough has a low crime rate, multiple speakers expressed concern that crime could creep into their community if the borough didn’t have its own department.

“These officers put their life on the line so these good people can have a safe place to live,” said Jenkintown resident Joyce Jones, whose comments were met with applause.

Scott said he acknowledged residents’ shock as he outlined the factors squeezing Jenkintown’s budget. Some of that strain comes from policies enacted under past police administrations, according to the chief’s presentation.

For example, Scott said, Jenkintown officers made an average salary of about $126,000, including overtime and the option to sell back unused sick time. The chief also said that previous administrations had hired too many officers, and that its higher rate of pay for training days was “not standard in other departments.”

Meanwhile, Jenkintown’s general reserve fund has dwindled to half of its target, according to borough officials. A forthcoming sewer project could cost the borough upward of $20 million.

Jenkintown Mayor Gabriel Lerman said last week that in considering the department’s future, leaders were attempting to minimize negative impact on other public services, including fire, EMS, public works, and schools. Jenkintown was also required to pay out hefty real estate and tax settlements in recent years, borough officials said.

“We don’t just want to try to tax our way out of the situation,” Lerman said. “We need to be smart with the money that we have.”

The Jenkintown Police Benevolent Association, in a recent statement, called a possible dissolution of the department “deeply saddening and troubling.” The association is in contract negations with the borough, according to the mayor.

The statement contended that Jenkintown has already discussed outsourcing with neighboring police departments. The statement cited a contract between the borough and a communications firm, reported by Glenside Local, that suggested Jenkintown had “intention to contract with Abington Township PD.”

Officials told residents Monday evening that hiring the firm was only part of the borough’s plan to communicate with residents about the need to reevaluate the department’s future; no negotiations with other townships took place, they said.

Residents will have the opportunity to speak again at the borough council’s monthly meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

“We’re not at risk of closing up our doors,” Lerman said, “but we know we need to proactively make a decision.”