Since we advised Woodlynne of our intention to end police services on June 30, there has been a lot happening. Woodlynne has been working to find replacement police service; Collingswood has been working to find the affected officers a new job; there have been newspaper stories of accusations and finger-pointing. And there have also been talks.

Because of the connection with Woodlynne students coming to our High School, and the proximity of Woodlynne between Camden and portions of Collingswood, we have been trying to ensure Woodlynne will continue to receive quality police coverage. Woodlynne’s crime problems, if not properly addressed, are Collingswood’s problems. Given municipal budget issues in other towns, and in Woodlynne, we are concerned that adequate arrangements may not be able to be put together by June 30.

Collingswood has also been immersed with dealing with rethinking every Department’s operations because of the severe economic times we find ourselves in. We have reworked Departments with an eye toward providing the same services with less manpower. We have tried to increase effective manhours while controlling costs.

What has emerged is the potential of continuing the police coverage arrangement with Woodlynne through the end of this year. Contrary to news reports, nothing has been finalized. The Chief of Police has outlined a conceptual plan that would preserve the same or more police patrol manhours and assure Collingswood residents of continuing protection. Largely because of other changes in police operations and changes in work rules, this plan may provide a basis to continue the Collingswood coverage for a period of time, at which point we would again evaluate its effectiveness for both towns.

Unfortunately, this plan would still mean the layoff of 6 officers. Those layoff notices have already been issued and we are working to secure the affected officers new jobs. I am pleased to report that several of the officers already have new job officers.

We are continuing to refine a police plan to ensure it can serve our residents. We will keep you posted as we work through these difficult issues.