Wolf tries again on state police funding proposal

Gov. Tom Wolf speaking.
Photo credit The Office of Governor Tom Wolf via Flickr
HARRISBURG, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Tom Wolf rolled out his budget proposal this past week. Many items in his spending plan are ones that failed to win approval in previous budgets, including his desire for municipalities to help pay for Pennsylvania State Police coverage.

Wolf has previously focused on communities that have only part-time police departments or are totally reliant on state police. Lawmakers balked, saying even municipalities with full-time departments need state police services. 

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So in his latest proposal, all municipalities would be assessed a fee based on a variety of factors, including,  but not limited to, the level of reliance on state police. 

In past years, the idea has been a non-starter. 

But Republican Pat Browne, chairman of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, commended state police for coming up with yet another different approach.

"Looking through 10,000 pages of data (to) come up with an alternative model based on our suggestion. That’s collaboration," Browne said.

But a spokeswoman for leaders of Senate majority Republicans cautions the devil will be in the details. Under the latest proposal, Philadelphia would pay $1.5 million a year for state police services.