Police Contract Finally Approved, Jay Conners Considers Tramping On A Civil Right

The Council President asks if our zoning code might be used to stifle free speech

At their May meeting, council passed 15 motions without a single dissenting vote. One of those votes finally approved a a new contract for our police force after 18(!) months of dragging their feet.

We don’t yet know the details of the contract, but we can reveal that the Jenkintown Police Benevolent Association held its ground against a Borough demand to rescind the vote of no confidence against Chief Scott.

A recap of Jenkintown’s police follies

The previous two-year police contract expired in December, 2023 with renewal talks ongoing. As the chief takes the lead negotiating against his own officers, he and Council float an idea in secret to disband the police force. Council awards $20,000 to a PR firm to help them manage the expected blowback when word gets out.

After the news is finally leaked in February 2024, Council, the chief, and George Locke hold a community meeting claiming that Abington will replace our department. This turns out to be false. Emails acquired via right-to-know requests confirm that Abington’s Township Manager had already rejected the idea.

Council commissions the DCED to study the problem, which submits a report, albeit one based on outdated/incorrect information. At the presentation as the discussion gets heated, Mr. Conners shuts down the comment period fifteen minutes early.

Chief Scott implements one man shifts despite staunch opposition to the idea from both his police officers and residents in the community.

Then as negotiations drag out, Chief Scott furloughs Officer Titterton, with officer Jaworski retiring and Officer Sangree finding employment elsewhere. The force now numbers seven officers.

Nine months or so after Jenkintown Matters exposes Council and the Chief’s duplicitousness, WHYY quotes Mr. Conners saying that dissolving the force is still on the table.

Yard signs and free speech

When attending council meetings, it pays to stay to the bitter end, because more often than not, that’s when council members often say the quiet parts out loud.

With all the votes taken, Mr. Conners posed a question to solicitor Patrick Hitchens asking if the zoning code could be used against those who posted  the “Terminate Takacs” yard signs on their properties. “This is not us”, he asserted.

He further claimed without evidence that “most of Jenkintown was not in favor of” what he described as a “personal attack”.

If Mr. Conners formed this opinion based on comments read on the Jenkintown Community Page, he surely knows the administrators purged the forum of critics of this council, the borough administration, and the school district.

Christian Soltyziak further cited her concerns about “the children” and school safety, which might puzzle anyone who’s ever been fired from a job.

We believe this discussion never should have happened and question why anyone who had a sixth-grade civics lesson even asked the question.

Sad to say, Jenkintown has a regrettable recent history of weaponizing its zoning code. Fortunately, Mr Hitchens pushed back saying that the “borough’s hands are tied”