Crime & Safety
Will Upper Macungie Need Its Own Police Force?
The township might separate from the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department at the end of 2012.
Editor's Note: In this column, we look ahead to important issues that will face Upper Macungie residents next year.
Summary: earlier this year to study breaking from the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department, which would force the township to create its own police force.
Upper Macungie Township currently pays more than $2.6 million for police protection from the . The three other Berks County municipalities covered by the department -- Maxatawny Township, Topton Borough and Lyons Borough -- pay significantly less.
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Supervisors want voting rights that are commensurate with the amount of money the township pays versus the amounts the smaller towns and boroughs shell out. Currently, each municipality has a 25 percent voting interest. The current charter was originally crafted in 2002.
Outlook: The Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Commissionover charter issues in November, but took in December. Its next scheduled meeting is
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