The Taylor Police Department is expanding its fleet of vehicles as it begins to patrol Ransom Twp.
Just over a week after extending its police coverage to its western neighbor, Taylor Borough Council unanimously voted Wednesday to approve a three-year lease for a 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle, which Ransom Twp. is paying for as part of its agreement with Taylor, council President Ken Mickavicz said.
The two municipalities agreed to a police contract in December that extended the Taylor Police Department’s coverage to Ransom Twp. starting Jan. 1. It is a one-year agreement that automatically renews in years two and three, though both towns have a 90-day out built into the contract where, with 90 days’ notice, either party can terminate the contract.
“If it goes the full course of the contract, the car then becomes the property of Ransom Twp.,” Mickavicz said. “It’s going to be in our name, but they have to pay the payments on it.”
Should either party end the contract early, Taylor will assume the remainder of the lease, Mickavicz said, explaining the borough usually buys at least one new vehicle each year.
Beyond paying for the new police vehicle, Ransom Twp. will pay $287,232 for police protection in 2025, followed by 4% increases in 2026 and 2027.
To determine the cost of policing, the borough looked at how much it costs to operate its Police Department broken down into per capita spending, Mickavicz said. After figuring out how much it pays per resident, the borough applied that figure to Ransom Twp.’s population, he said.
“Everybody is paying the fair share, and it’s not increasing in any way, shape or form, the Taylor residents’ cost of police protection,” Mickavicz said. “Indirectly, their cost is offsetting some of our costs for the whole Police Department.”
So far, the transition has been seamless, Mickavicz said, pointing to Taylor and Ransom already working together on endeavors like landfill inspections at the Alliance Landfill, which operates in both towns.
Ransom Twp. previously contracted with South Abington Twp. for police services, but that ended Dec. 31, 2023, following a breakdown in contract negotiations between the towns. In 2024, Ransom Twp. received police services through the Pennsylvania State Police, which provides police coverage for municipalities that do not have their own departments.
The new Tahoe adds a ninth patrol vehicle to Taylor’s fleet and offsets the wear-and-tear of the new coverage area, Police Chief Brian Holland said, explaining the Tahoe will primarily be used to patrol in that area. The department has 12 full-time officers and nine part time, he said.
The Tahoe PPV, upfitted with police equipment, amounts to $97,197.59, which includes emergency lights, radios, cameras, a cage and a special NOPTIC spotlight, Holland said. Unlike a standard spotlight, the NOPTIC light has a thermal camera mounted on it that displays on the in-car computer, he said. The thermal camera will help officers in search and rescues and when looking for suspects, even showing if a vehicle was recently parked because of the heat radiating from its engine, Holland said.
“You’d be able to, at a significant distance in the dark, tell if someone was armed,” he said. “A lot of our officers at night will just use it on patrol.”
The Tahoe is projected to arrive in early-to-mid February, Holland said.
To incorporate Ransom Twp. into Taylor’s policing, Holland said the department is treating the town like a neighborhood in the borough, adding it to a patrol zone that encompasses everything west of Keyser Avenue.
Taylor police have already responded to a few calls in the township, he said.
“It’s truly a symbiotic relationship and benefits both municipalities,” Holland said. “We’re very happy to work with Ransom Twp. while simultaneously increasing protection in Taylor.”
To acclimate Taylor police with the new coverage area, Dave Bird, the chairman of the Ransom Twp. Board of Supervisors, spent several days showing officers around the town and giving them access to the township’s buildings. Ransom also outfitted its parks and municipal buildings with cameras, and Taylor police will have access to that surveillance if needed, Bird said.
As he showed police around the township, Bird said they asked questions like what are the township’s biggest issues — ATVs and speeding.
Once the weather breaks, the township’s Department of Public Works will work with Taylor police to paint speeding lines in problem spots, he said.
Everything has been going well early into the contract, Bird said.
“The presence of them being in the township, people are happy to see them,” he said. “They’re very good; they’re working closely with us. We’ve got a good agreement here.”