HARRISVILLE — Borough council decided Monday, Oct. 2 to review its police agreement with Marion Township before voting to potentially suspend service to the neighboring municipality due to concerns about the contract’s legitimacy.

During a crowded meeting, council tabled a decision on the matter after Harrisville police chief Jeff Hollidge gave them a copy of the contact.

Earlier at the meeting, council approved president Eric Snyder’s resignation. In a phone call before the meeting, Snyder said his departure was due to “too many disagreements in council.”

In his resignation letter, which was dated Sept. 13 and was read at the meeting, Snyder called council “a mess,” stating he was “totally burned out.”

Council vice president Gary Wray was appointed to serve as council president in a 4-1 vote, and Dave Evans was selected as vice president in a 4-1 vote.

Several council members expressed concern that Harrisville’s amended police contract with Marion Township — which went into effect in 2020 — was never discussed at council or signed by the council president.

There are also no meeting minutes to account for negotiations around the contract, council member Will McCoy said.

Before the meeting, Harrisville Mayor Gary Hughes said there had been discussion about the regional police agreement “from the very beginning.”

He said the regional police agreement with Marion Township was discussed among council members, but not by the members currently serving the borough.

“We’ve had a lot of ins and outs in the council in the last few years or so,” Hughes said. “People get mad and quit, people get appointed to fill vacancies, then others quit.”

Turnover rate

The turnover rate has affected the way council has kept track of documents, Hughes said.

In his 10 years as mayor, Hughes said he has worked with about six or seven secretaries, and several council presidents and solicitors. The lack of consistency has caused a slew of problems in the past, he said, including meeting minutes not being consistent and “votes that never get put on records.”

“I’m convinced there is some money made on a monthly basis for Harrisville,” Hughes said about the police agreement before the meeting. “Otherwise, I would have pushed for us to get rid of it.”

Township supervisor chairman Jason McBride, who was not at the meeting, said Monday afternoon the contract was signed by himself, Hughes and former Harrisville police chief Alan Heller.

Council was unable to locate the document for months, the newly elected council president Gary Wray said. At one point Monday evening, Hollidge left the borough building to bring council members a copy from the police department. He returned with it in hand.

Residents of Marion Township were present at the meeting and expressed concern about losing their police force.

Boyers has seen a decline in speeding since the agreement with the Harrisville Borough Police Department was put in place, McBride said Monday afternoon.

Residents of both Marion and Harrisville expressed concern about what the agreement was costing the borough. One resident of Harrisville asked for more transparency regarding the contract, and asked that it be reviewed so the community could better understand the profits and losses involved.

In response to concerns voiced by Marion Township residents at Monday’s meeting, Wray said the purpose of taking action on the matter was not to necessarily suspend the agreement, but to ensure the contract was legally binding before any action could be taken.

The contract is a regional agreement between both municipalities that allows Harrisville’s police officers to patrol Boyers and Marion Township, including portions of Route 308, Route 58 and Boyers and Forestville roads.

McBride said the contract was amended around June to extend police coverage in Marion Township from 10 hours a week to 15. Marion Township increased its pay for Harrisville police officers to $34 from $31 an hour.

“We consider Harrisville borough a sister community,” he said. “We have worked well with the mayor; I feel there’s a lot of intergovernmental issues there we have no control over that will affect (Marion Township).”

The agreement with Marion Township will continue as is until the contract is reviewed and council takes further action on the issue.

Trick-or-treat

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Trick-or-treating will take place in Harrisville between 4 and 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28.