It’s a classic case of overlapping interests.

Center Township, about to undergo a dynamic spurt of commercial development and possible road construction, will need municipal police coverage.

Butler, with an established police force, needs to cultivate new revenue streams, one of which could be expanded police services in nearby townships.

It would seem a natural solution for Butler to provide police services under contract with the township.

The arrangement would help the township by eliminating the need to start from scratch. There’s no worry about payroll, benefits, scheduling or administration of a police department. No buying or maintaining police cruisers, no fuel bills, no uniform requirements. The township might not even have to pay liability insurance premiums if the department is already covered.

The city, which already has all these concerns and others covered with its existing department, gets a badly needed source of cash from the township.

Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well, there are other considerations.

Will Butler police be bound by township ordinances while patrolling in the township? Will they be tasked with enforcing all minor criminal ordinances even if they might differ slightly from city ordinances? Will Butler’s police priorities become Center’s priorities too?

Will Mayor Tom Donaldson be the nominal head of police operations in Center as he is in the city?

How will the protocols work for emergency situations? Will state police — currently Center’s only police resource — continue to operate as a backup?

How will complaints, disagreements and discrepancies be handled between the two municipalities?

Ultimately, the winning formula must balance how much Center is willing to pay for police coverage, how much control each municipality is willing to cede to the other; and whether the city can provide competent service at a profit without compromising protection in the city.

While none of these issues constitutes a deal-breaker, negotiation of a possible police agreement must be studied carefully before either municipality commits to a promise it can’t deliver.

That said, the city and township should be encouraged to thoroughly explore this option. It could and should be approached as the first step toward an eventual regional police force. Other mergers — fire protection, road maintenance, parks and summer recreation programs — could follow.

It seems like the neighborly thing to do, just as long as every neighbor benefits from the deal.