Dissolving the Burgettstown Police Department is not only unfortunate, but a real cause for concern. Residents should be asking hard questions about the dissolution, including the causes behind it and where police protection will come from in the future.


What residents should not do is play a game of “telephone” with the rumors, half-truths and blatant misdirections swirling around the dissolution.


The fact is there is no liability insurance for the police department. It is unclear exactly how the insurance was lost, and residents should continue to question how this happened, how long the department was without insurance and why it took a councilwoman only three-and-a-half months into her first term of office to discover the lack.


Without liability insurance, if the department was sued or the officers exposed themselves to liability — for any reason — for an incident taking place when there was no insurance, then the borough would be responsible for the litigation costs incurred, regardless of the outcome. In addition, if a financial award was ordered, the borough would bear the entire cost.


This could potentially bankrupt the borough.


It was for this reason — to avoid potentially exposing the borough and the taxpayers to a crippling lawsuit — the borough department was dissolved.


It wasn’t for financial reasons.


It had nothing to do with health insurance.


It wasn’t because “there were too many lawsuits filed against the police department.”


It wasn’t a “personal vendetta” on behalf of the council — in fact, three of the five councilpeople and the mayor are newly elected.


Some may be confused because the council originally decided to dissolve and restructure the department as a part-time department as a cost-saving measure, with an eye to prioritizing shifts for the times there were the most calls. However, between the April 5 regular council meeting and the April 14 special meeting, it was discovered the police department had no liability insurance. Council had no choice but to dissolve the department with the hope the borough could find new insurance and reform the department, which council members emphatically stated at the meeting.


To do otherwise would have been the dereliction of duty of which some now accuse the council.


If people want information on what is happening with the police department, what the status of the insurance is and answers to their questions, they should approach a member of council. Speak to Mayor Anna Marie Quader; the mayor oversees the police department.


Get information first-hand, not a rumor third- or fourth-hand.


 

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