Clearfield and Lawrence Township are looking into merging their Police Departments. A Town Hall happened last night in Lawrence Township — where a Commission’s seeking public feedback on the proposed merger.
Clearfield Borough Mayor Mason Strouse tells us both Departments have had issues with hiring and maintaining staff, a major instigator for this proposal. But on top of that, Strouse gives a number of reasons for why such a merger is in the public’s best interest. Strouse saying: “We have a lot of duplication of services related to the Police Department and our Police Departments are already going out on a lot of calls together. They respond just about to most everything together already. We wanted to look at the possibility of merging the two Police Departments, and that’s what got our regionalization started.” Strouse adding: “Most people are just, you know, their concerns are: will there be consistent coverage? You know, are the Police Officers gonna be compensated well, and are Communities gonna be safe? And that’s what this regionalization seeks to do.”
Strouse tells us they’d like to begin any merger by January.