Pa. Lawmaker Renews Push For Municipalities To Pay For State Police Protection
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- A state lawmaker has added fuel to the debate over whether local municipalities that rely on state police coverage should have to pay for that service.
The issue has been around for more than a dozen years, and as part of his budget proposal, Governor Wolf has proposed a $25 per resident fee for municipalities that rely solely on state police coverage.
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Lancaster County House Democrat Mike Sturla wants to go farther. He's proposing to charge those municipalities more than $100 per capita, phased in over a ten-year period, and to charge municipalities that utilize state police on a part time basis a lesser fee.
"If we can at least get what the governor has said what he wants to do, that would get us through year three. He generates the same money in the first three years as I do in the first three years. I start out lower than he does and I get higher than he does," he said.
Sturla, who says 80-percent of the state is paying for the police coverage of the other 20-percent, believes enacting the governor's proposal would be a "start."
