Hampton plans additional police patrols

St. Patrick’s Day is commonly celebrated with green clothing and green beer, meaning one of the biggest drinking holidays is also one with the most drunken drivers on the road. In Hampton, March 17 will be commemorated with additional police patrols to monitor for impaired drivers.

Township council on Feb. 22 approved police Chief Thomas Vulakovich’s request to join the North Hills DUI and Traffic Safety Enforcement task forces. Vulakovich said Hampton will be the 13th department to join the DUI task force, which covers Allegheny County’s northern suburbs. It includes police from West Deer, Indiana and O’Hara townships.

The first roving patrols — when police officers patrol a designated area for a specific amount of time looking for intoxicated drivers, using clues such as if they drive across the center line or go through red lights — are scheduled for March 17 in Hampton. The DUI task force will address impaired driving, aggressive driving and occupant protection, Vulakovich said.

He said it is important that Hampton join the task forces because of a rise in arrests and accidents involving driving under the influence.

In the two weeks since he first asked council to approve joining the group, Vulakovich said there were six incidents, including a drunken driver going through a construction zone and crashing into a curb on Route 8 and another impaired motorist crashing into a police vehicle on Trotter Drive.

“I can’t explain it, but they’re out there,” he said. “And therefore I think it’s time that we participate in this grant.”

Grant funds overtime

Costs associated with paying officers overtime for the DUI task force are covered by a $100,000 state grant. The grant is divided among the 13 departments based on motor vehicle accident statistics given to the task force director, Vulakovich added.

He said the program will last until the money is spent, and that task force encourages the township to publicize when the patrols will take place to give “fair warning” to residents.

Christopher Lochner, municipal manager, said they will likely post notices on the township’s website and social media pages.

“I like the idea of publicizing it. I mean, it goes to deterrence,” said council member Julie Fritsch.

“If it discourages a few people, great,” Carolynn Johnson, council president, added.

Vulakovich said that Hampton will not participate in stationary checkpoints, which are typically considered controversial and involve closing down part of a road and checking drivers as they pass through a roadblock for potential intoxication. He said they will participate in these stationary checkpoints in other municipalities, though.

Township finances addressed

Also on Feb. 22, council also discussed financial matters related to the township’s $15.5 million budget for 2023. Controller Jerry Speakman said deed transfers were the lowest they’ve been since 2017, about $30,000 less than last year. Because township officials expected a dip in the housing market, he said they still hope to remain within budget at the end of the year.

He also said there was a “oversight” or “misstep” in the budgeting process because they didn’t account for a higher electricity bill, which will cost about $115,000 to $120,000 extra. The township had a contract with Duquesne Light that expired at the end of 2022, Speakman said, and under new terms, the price increased from 5 cents per kilowatt hour to 8 cents, a 60% jump.

“That’s why I have jumped very, very quickly to be cautious about what we’re doing on all the other costs,” Speakman said.

As for the township’s defined contribution employee pension plan, Speakman said the fund’s value decreased by about 20% in 2022, although it’s higher than it was five to seven years ago. The drop equates to a $2.7 million loss for the general fund and $4.5 million for the police fund.

“The last two years, we’ve lost the gains that we made in 2020 and 2021,” he said. “But we still are on a positive area.”

Lochner added that because contributions to the fund from the state will continue, the township is still “in a decent position considering what’s happened in the market. But to Mr. Speakman’s point, it’ll take time to recoup that value.”