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LOCK HAVEN -- Lock Haven City Council will have final say as to what hours city police officers will work each day as contract negotiations proceed.
A proposed reduction in Lock Haven city police coverage from 24-hours per day to 20 hours ignited once more after it was announced the city and Lock Haven Police Officers Association (LHPOA) have entered into arbitration over a new contract.
The arbiter, however, will not decide officers' hours or shifts; that will be up to City Council in concert with city Manager Greg Wilson.
It was Wilson who first proposed the cut in hours last fall in October as negotiations between the city and LHPOA were underway.
At the time, Wilson told The Express that the change could combat rising costs to taxpayers at a time when inflation was at a record high.
The city also is dealing with other financial challenges, including mandated upkeep of the stormwater system and an ongoing legal battle over the sanitary sewage treatment plant.
Wilson said the change could mean officers would move from 8-hour to 10-hour shifts.
The remaining four hours -- a time frame that has not been publicly disclosed -- would be covered by Pennsylvania State Police.
According to officials, the arbiter will decide, among other things, offices' pay rates, pension contributions and health-care premiums.
The arbiter's decision isn't expected for a few weeks via the American Arbitration Association.
The two sides met behind closed doors on March 31 to negotiate a new contract.
The previous police union contract expired on Dec. 31, 2022.
Negotiations have been ongoing since May 2022.
Arbitration became necessary after the city and LHPOA were unable to reach an agreement on key issues.
According to a statement from Wilson, due to the amount of information presented to the arbitrator from both sides, it will take "several weeks" before they will make a final determination.
When a "final determination" is announced, Wilson said the contract will be presented to council for debate and decisions.
The city currently employs 12 uniformed officers and four non-uniformed personnel under Chief Matthew Rickard.
According to the city's 2023 budget, the cost of police services -- from staffing to vehicles to equipment to insurances and more -- come in at $1,845,550.
The 2023 general fund expense budget comes in at $5,795,06.
During the budget deliberations last fall, a breakdown of what an average 24-hour day looked like for police officers was presented to council. The statistics were from 2018 through the end of September 2022. All information was provided by then-Police Chief Kristin Smith.
According to Smith's numbers, the department addressed the following on an average 24-hour day: "Issues two parking tickets per day; investigates nine complaint reports each day; writes three supplement reports each day; gives one verbal warning each day and issues one traffic ticket each day."
The statistics also provided issues that officers addressed less frequently than others daily, including: "Provides a written warning to one person every two days, cites one person with a criminal citation every two days, responds to a motor vehicle accident one time every two days, cites a person with a non-traffic violation every five days, makes one DUI arrest every 14 days and cites one person with violating a city ordinance every 44 days."
The provided information did not delineate during what shifts most incidents occur.
On average, officers spend a little more than 3.5 hours a day driving on patrol, about two hours on criminal complaints and another two hours on noncriminal complaints.
According to the data, officers will also spend an average of one hour every four days addressing a motor vehicle accident; one hour every 11 days doing community service; one hour every 13 days on speed enforcement; one hour every 18 days on foot patrol and one hour every 21 days in court.