Skip to content
Jenkintown Matters
Jenkintown Matters
  • Home
  • Documents
  • A Better Approach
  • Latest News
Jenkintown Matters
Jenkintown Matters
Jenkintown police vehicle leading a fourth of july parade

Letter to Borough Council

Jenkintown Matters, May 24, 2024June 9, 2024

The Honorable Mayor Gabriel Lerman
Council President Jay Conners
Council Vice President Christian Soltysiak
Jenkintown Borough Council
700 Summit Avenue Jenkintown, PA 19046

Dear Mr. Lerman, Mr. Conners, Ms. Soltysiak, and Honorable Council members:

We are writing to you as a citizens’ committee formed in response to the Council’s apparent intention to dissolve and outsource the Jenkintown Police Department.

We have attended the community meetings dedicated to the discussion of this issue as well as Council meetings and committee workshops, and we have heard the Council’s case for dissolution. We remain firm in our belief that this is not the right way forward.

We would like to be entirely clear: the Jenkintown Police Department is an essential part of our community. It has been in the past, it is in the present, and it must continue to be in the future.

The tight-knit relationship between our community and our police force exemplifies what policing should look like in our country. Many of us know our officers by name. We feel safe knowing their familiar faces are available at a moment’s notice in our time of need. There is no possible way this relationship can be replicated, even with the best of contracts, by any external police force.

Thus far, the Council’s actions throughout this process have demonstrated a disappointing lack of transparency. We feel betrayed by the Council’s decision to secretly hire a PR consultant. As the PR consultant’s contract makes clear, the Council’s intention was to inform the community of this decision after the fact.

We call on the Council to do the following:

  • Abandon their initiative to dissolve the Jenkintown Police Department
  • Negotiate in good faith with the Jenkintown Police Benevolent Association
  • Make a commitment to greater transparency
  • Comply fully with the Pennsylvania Open Meeting Law (the Sunshine Act)
  • Consider alternate sources of funds, including the sale of our sewer system
  • Focus their energies on attracting businesses and increasing revenue
  • Adhere to Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP)
  • Apply for any and all local, state and federal police department grants available

We look forward to working with you to keep the Jenkintown Police Department in a fiscally responsible manner.

Respectfully yours,

Jenkintown Matters

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading…
Commentary News

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Analysis

Council’s Deafening Silence

May 1, 2025May 5, 2025

It’s hardly inappropriate for individual council members to speak out and directly to their constituents. Elected officials at all levels do it all the time. Isn’t that part of the job?

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading…
Read More
Commentary

This is How Towns Die

December 2, 2024December 2, 2024

If you think Jenkintown has a bright future under its current administrations, you haven’t been paying attention, or you’re biding your time until your kids graduate. Jenkintonians residing here since…

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading…
Read More
Jenkintown Stories

No Place Like Jenkintown

June 9, 2024June 9, 2024

When I was a kid growing up in Elkins Park, I was thrilled when I was finally allowed to take the bus into Jenkintown on a Saturday to “knock around town” as my great grandmother used to call it. It cost a whopping 25 cents to go from the corner of Elkins Avenue and York Road to be dropped off in front of the Highway movie theater. I was 12-years-old with my allowance firmly tucked in my pocket.

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading…
Read More
  • Jenkintown Matters Policy Platform
  • Vote of No Confidence Investigation
  • Bellevue Emails
  • Borough Debt Statements
  • DCED Documents
  • Financial Reports
  • Jenkintown Borough Audits
  • Police Association Letters
  • Right to Know Requests
Logo

Each month, we'll send a short and spicy report on the latest from our little borough.

*

Privacy policy

Privacy Policy

©2026 Jenkintown Matters | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes
%d