An open letter to Sen. Don White, Rep. Jeff Pyle and fiscally responsible legislators:
I was pleased to read the letters “Hempfield should share casino wealth” (Dec. 23, TribLIVE) and “Hempfield needs police” (Jan. 18, TribLIVE). I request that you require the $25 per capita tax that Gov. Tom Wolf suggested to subsidize the Pennsylvania State Police, who provide police protection in municipalities where a local police department is not paid for by its own residents.
I was quite surprised to hear that for my Kiskiminetas Township and any other township that has a police department paid with local residents’ taxes, police are required to provide free police service protection to other local areas without a paid police department, if state police are not going to show up.
There is no compensation to replace the tax dollars used to take care of another municipality’s problems, because areas where people have their own police do not get subsidized by those using the services. Why should this be happening? Hempfield and others are getting a free ride if legislators and the governor continue to allow this.
Stop allowing it now. Get this changed in the 2019-20 budget.
Regina Liermann
Kiskiminetas