Township Nets $600K From Berks-Lehigh Police Liquidation

Upper Macungie Township has netted $600,000 to date from the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department liquidation and will set aside $532,000 in a special fund to deal with outstanding pension exposure.

Supervisor Sam Ashmar, who also sits on the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Commission, said the current pension shortfall is pegged at $700,000 and feels it might go higher.

Upper Macungie is responsible for 76 percent of the outstanding pension shortfall, whatever that number might be.

"I'm not totally comfortable with that ($700,000) number. Right now, it's highly speculative. We might have to budget more out-of-pocket money, but we don't know what that liability is. We'll have the liquid cash to deal with any exposure," Ashmar said.

The remaining $68,000 of the $600,000 will go into the township's general fund.

Recent Berks-Lehigh liquidations have netted the following money to Upper Macungie Township:

• $152,000 from the recent auction of Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department equipment.

• $357,000 from a partial liquidation of the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department bank account.

• $76,000 from an insurance consortium.

• $15,000 in escrow from the sale of guns and other equipment.