The Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) ‘Police Cost to Benefit Analysis’ performed at the Borough’s request is available opens in a new windowhere.
The scope of this project was to complete a cost-to-benefit analysis of Jenkintown’s police operations, and police staffing needs. To achieve this goal, the methodology employed the use of financial data to perform comparative analysis between Jenkintown and communities with similar demographics in the Philadelphia Region and Montgomery County.
This document used seven areas for comparative analysis as follows:
- Total municipal budget: Annual budgets between communities having similar demographics, such as population, CPI geographic location, etc.
- Per capita cost for police services: Cost of police services per resident.
- Total police budget: This is the cost of the police budget compared between the same communities.
- Percentage of personal costs in the police budget: Personnel costs typically account for 85% to 90% of a police budget.
- Percentage of the total budget dedicated to the police: There is no data available to identify the acceptable amount allocated towards police operations.
- Per capita cost per police officer: This metric calculates the approximate cost for each fulltime police officer.
- Total number of officers per 1,000 residents: Number of police officers employed per 1,000 residents, which is later compared using the IACP formula to determine actual staffing needs.
After reviewing the following information, it is apparent that the cost of local police services in Jenkintown Borough is higher than in the comparative communities. It is shown that Jenkintown’s municipal budget is approximately 16.19% higher than the Greater Philadelphia Region (GPR) and 8.09% higher than Montgomery County. The per-capita costs for police services are approximately 6.22% higher than the GPR and 38.99% higher than Montgomery County. Jenkintown’s police budget is approximately 21.25% higher than the GPR and 40.54% higher than Montgomery County. Jenkintown’s per-capita cost per police officer employee is approximately 9.74% higher than the GPR and 22.85% higher than Montgomery County.
| Greater Philadelphia Region | GPR | Jenkintown |
| Total Municipal Budget: | $6,560,982.00 | $7,623,034.00 |
| Per-Capita Costs for Police Services: | $386.00 | $410.00 |
| Total Police Budget: | $1,594,643.00 | $1,933,499.00 |
| The Personnel Costs (90%) in the Police Budget: | $1,435,179.00 | $1,740,149.00 |
| The Percentage of Total Budget Dedicated to Police: | 24.3% | 25.4% |
| Per-Capita for Police Officers: | $160,176.00 | $175,773.00 |
| Total Number of Police Officers per 1,000 residents: | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Montgomery County | Montgomery Co. | Jenkintown |
| Total Municipal Budget: | $7,052,744.00 | $7,623,034.00 |
| Per-Capita Costs for Police Services: | $295.00 | $410.00 |
| Total Police Budget: | $1,375,804.00 | $1,933,499.00 |
| The Personnel Costs (90%) in the Police Budget: | $1,238,224.00 | $1,740,149.00 |
| The Percentage of Total Budget Dedicated to Police: | 19.51% | 25.4% |
| Per-Capita for Police Officers: | $143,084.00 | $175,773.00 |
| Total Number of Police Officers per 1,000 residents: | 1.9 | 2.4 |
Jenkintown officials have provided additional annual expenditures related to
police operations that are not included in the MunStats Public Safety section. These
expenditures are as follows:
| Additional Expenditures: | |
| Pension: | $262,000.00 |
| Medical: | $258,800.00 |
| Dental: | $16,309.00 |
| Worker’s Compensation: | $34,362.00 |
| Life Insurance: | $15,544.00 |
| General Liability: | $75,000.00 |
| Total: | $662,015.004 |
$2,595,514.00, resulting in a per-capita cost of $550.00 for residents. This represents 34% of the borough’s total operating budget and 48.88% of the General fund budget. The per-capita cost is approximately 40% higher than the adjusted Commonwealth average.
All of this information provided is critical for the Borough to consider for the sustainability of public safety services within the Borough for the next ten to fifteen years.
The DCED presentation will take place in person at Jenkintown Borough Hall, 700 Summit Avenue Jenkintown, PA 19046 on Wednesday, November 13th at 7:00 PM. As are all Borough Public meetings there will be a ZOOM meeting link available should you be unable to attend in person. The ZOOM meeting link can be requested by emailing the Borough Manager at opens in a new windowGlocke@jenkintownboro.comcreate new email Public meetings can also be viewed over Live Feed on the Borough Facebook page.
If you have any questions concerning this meeting please feel free to email the Borough Manager or call Borough Hall at 215-885-0700.