North Versailles commissioners have decided to cut nine police officers from the township payroll to plug a budget gap and avoid a 3-mill tax increase.

They voted 4-3 on New Year's Eve to reduce the 26-officer force by two full-time officers and all seven of its part-time officers, to close part of the $700,000 gap in the $5.4 million budget.

"Our police officers were concerned about a reduction of the force, but we also have our residents to think about," said Commissioner Frank Bivins. "We can't just keep raising millage two or three mills at a time every year."

Bivins said there were few other places in the budget to make cuts; only the police department had been unscathed by previous reductions. The Public Works Department was already "running a bare-bones operation," he said.

Instead of a 3-mill tax increase that could have maintained the police staffing level, the budget taking effect Jan. 26 will include a 1.5 mill increase, said Commissioner Sean McGuire, who voted for reducing the police force.

The commissioners plan to meet next week with police Chief James Comunale to discuss other cost savings that McGuire hoped would keep them from having to make other cuts. He did not think they could find enough savings to bring back any of the officers who were cut.

"(Cutting the officers) will reduce the services from the police, but it will save us about $200,000 a year to help the township get by," McGuire said.

Comunale could not be reached.

Commissioners Dennis and Bryan Dull, a father and son who serve as president and vice president of the board, said the cut would reduce the number of officers on each shift to only two or three, with one bound by contract to patrol the neighboring community of Wilmerding. Previously there had been between five and seven officers available, Bryan Dull said. Both voted against the cut.

"This leaves North Versailles' citizens at risk. Their security is definitely being compromised," he said. "If there's an accident, one cop is directing traffic, another is helping the victims, and there's no one to respond if someone reports their home being broken into."

Bryan Dull said that if the 3-mill increase had passed, the township could have paid off some of its debts and brought taxes back down after three years.

Dennis Dull said there would be another public hearing and chance to change the budget at 7 p.m. Jan. 15, but thought the four-vote bloc in favor of the police cuts would stop any efforts to shift back toward keeping the current staffing levels.

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