Staffing concerns hit West Mead, with loss of two police officers

Nov. 10—WEST MEAD TOWNSHIP — Staffing issues that have affected industries ranging from fast-food outlets to health care providers to schools continue to affect police departments as well, including West Mead Township Police Department.

Supervisors unanimously accepted the resignations of one full-time and one part-time officer at the monthly meeting Tuesday.

"When you lose two people out of one workforce, there's a hole — there's a void," Supervisor John Shartle said. "I will tell you that we're working on it."

It was a sentiment echoed by Chief Chip Brown following the meeting.

With the latest resignations, Brown said, the department is down to one full-time officer and three part-time officers. A few years ago the ideal staffing level was two full-time officers and five or six part-time officers. As chief, Brown represents one of the part-time positions.

Whether the department can find the labor to return to pre-pandemic staffing levels remains to be seen. The hiring landscape for law enforcement remains challenging, but Brown added that he is "hopefully optimistic" regarding the department's prospects.

At the same time, however, Brown said that several factors influencing police department staffing have changed in significant ways in just a few years.

"The hiring process through the state is not getting any easier," he said, explaining that state-mandated requirements have become increasingly cumbersome.

As evidence, Brown pointed to three applicants to the department who have been under consideration for months. "We still haven't gotten them through this process," he said.

Changing attitudes toward law enforcement have had an impact as well, according to Brown. While West Mead is far from Milwaukee, where the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in 2020 set off nationwide protests, the township is not immune to the lessened appeal of law enforcement as a career that has resulted, according to Brown.

"Who wants to be a police officer these days?" he asked. "Just because that happens in Minneapolis or Seattle, doesn't mean we don't see changes in northwest Pennsylvania."

And with the effect being felt across the region, that means a small department like West Mead is competing against larger, better-paying departments nearby. Meadville Police Department, for instance, has been trying to fill three open positions since summer.

In West Mead, Officer Daniel Palka, the full-time department member who resigned Nov. 5, left for what Brown told supervisors was a better career opportunity that offered experiences that weren't available in the township.

"He did an awesome job while he was here," Brown said. "There's multiple other employment opportunities out there, so he chose to go to one of the other municipalities. He'll be missed."

With a market that favors employees at the moment, Brown said some potential part-time staff members are looking for as much as $25 per hour in pay — an unrealistic figure for the township, where part-time police officer wages typically start around $15 per hour. Attracting part-time staff members, many of whom are already working full-time jobs somewhere else, is made even more difficult when similar wages are available at fast-food restaurants, according to Brown.

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.