Williamsport police getting bomb-sniffing K-9; mental crisis co-responder initiative ‘getting off the ground’
Williamsport, Pa. — The Williamsport Bureau of Police soon will see a new K-9 officer and the advancement of its budding mental health co-responder program.
At Thursday's city council meeting, locating new funding to keep bettering the city's parks was among a number of topics councillors touched upon as officials welcomed a new chief of human resources to liaison with its city employees. Council also took steps to make real estate tax payments easier for city residents. The council heard a first reading on a resolution setting the stage to let residents make real estate tax payments in installments. What it will do, according to City Treasurer Kevin Mackey, is "allow people to pay at the face value rather than going into penalty," he said, adding the city "shouldn't see too much in revenue differences."
Mackey says it would be a similar tax payment system to how the Williamsport school district's is set up. It gives city taxpayers an option to break-up their tax payments.
"No one wants to pay more in taxes," he noted. "Depending on how it goes, we might even get some money in earlier."
Councilwoman Liz Miele, the council's finance committee chair, noted she was glad to see the city expand its ability to offer options to citizens to pay taxes. Miele called it a "meaningful way to make tax payments reachable for a lot of people." The change will allow for two month payment installments. However, the number of city residents expected to utilize the installment system may be small, Mackey said. The city expects to see a greater use by taxpayers going into a penalty phase. Mackey added this will not change the date taxes are currently due, and the online tax payment system will change little.
New human resource director
Chief of Police Justin Snyder presented a resolution on behalf of the administration for council to sign-off on the city's new director of human resources. Donna Fuller of Nisbet says she's looking forward to her new role serving the city. Her appointment was unanimously approved in a 7-0 vote.
According to Fuller, she moved to the area in the early 1990s after her husband left the U.S. Marine Corps. She is a mother to three children with nine grandkids.
"I think I can help a lot," she said. "I care about people. But I care about doing the right things for the right reasons."
Fuller spoke of keeping a work environment in city government where people are "open and honest with each other." She added, "it's best if we keep things above board." Councilwoman Bonnie Katz asked Fuller about her background working with public sector unions. Fuller told Katz how in addition to a past job as manager of human resources for nine years at WireRope, her husband was a third-generation union member. "This is a process," Fuller said of working with unions. "This is a relationship that you build throughout the year." Miele added that Fuller has an "excellent work history in terms of longevity and employ" and has "grown into the role" over the course of her work history.
WBP co-responder unit
On Thursday, council finalized its agreement for the city's new mental health co-responder program within the Williamsport Bureau of Police. Grant funding through December 2025 will sustain the city employ of one individual to work alongside police officers to assist with persons in the middle of a mental health episode. The State College-based Center for Community Resources , which runs a statewide crisis intervention program as well locally, will have a goal to "make all of our officers a mental health expert," according to Assistant Chief of Police Jason Bolt. "This is where policing is going," Bolt said. "The idea is to train as much as we can."
The pilot program, which was reviewed by solicitor Austin White, is an initiative Mayor Derek Slaughter indicated earlier in his first term that he wanted to see transition to reality. It's meant to "free-up" officers to focus on other matters and "improve outcomes" in a dispatch call where a mental health professional may be the better choice, the mayor previously said.
"It's also a diversion tactic" because "not everyone needs to go to jail," Bolt said. The cost will not exceed $70,000, according to officials. On Friday, Council President Adam Yoder said it's "getting off the ground." Extra funding to possibly continue it may be available at a later date. Katz, chair of council's public works committee, says it's a needed service. She called it an "excellent" and "interesting" initiative. "Plus our officers will be trained in this also," added Katz. But it will not be a 24/7 hour position. It will be a "trial and error" process so far as schedule planning, Bolt said. "It's a growing program." He said the department is trying to capture day and night shifts where greater police activity is typically seen. "We think this is a good program all the way around," Katz stated.
Police welcome K-9 officer
In addition, council members authorized a contract for the police bureau with Excel K-9 Services Inc. The Ohio company's golden-lab mix breed canine will be a "dual-purpose" addition for detecting and tracking bombs as well as humans. The $12,800 total contract cost includes the dog, training and its handler. Bolt says the K-9s come at no cost to the city and largely paid through donation with some grant funding. Bolt said the new K-9 will be different than the two current police dogs that are trained only in narcotic detection and apprehension.
In other business, Dante Miele-Elion, of West Fourth Street, got a unanimous appointment to a five-year term on the city's Historical Architectural Review Board through 2029. Miele-Elion and his family have an extensive background in local historical infrastructure.
The city's first 2025 budget meeting will be Monday, Nov. 18. The second is Wednesday, Nov. 20. Both meetings will begin at 7 p.m. where the council regularly meets. The city council's next regular business meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5 on the third floor of Trade & Transit II at 144 W. Third St.
