HONESDALE, PA — A new report from Honesdale Safety Committee members Bill Canfied and Bob Jennings recommends doubling the number of full-time police officers on the force from three to six. The report was issued on January 9.

The force currently operates with three full-time officers and 14 part-time officers who, according to the report, in 2016 earned between $528 and $35,330.11.

The report says using more full-time officers and relying much less on part-time officers would be “fiscally more advantageous” and also provide a more “unified, cohesive and better informed unit of protection to the community.”

The report notes that as in much of the rest of the state, heroin addiction and overdoses have risen to new highs in the borough, leading to an increase in crimes, and full-time officers are best suited to address these issues.

The report says that 14 part-time officers have been a positive extension of the three-person force, but “the constant coordination and time effort of scheduling and determining who is available to fill shifts takes away valuable time from policing duties.”

The report recommends that the borough council “determine financial options to provide 24/7 protection for the citizens and businesses of the borough.”

The report suggests the cost of the additional officers might be paid for with a “reasonable incremental tax increase” over a three-year time period. It says the ultimate cost for three more full-time officers would be $269,915.68, but depending on how the change is managed, it could save taxpayers up to $6,783.

There have been tensions between Honesdale Police Chief Rick Southerton and some members of the borough council, and in October 2013 three members—Mike Augello, Mike Dux and Chris Murray—asked him to resign, which he declined to do.

Jennings and Canfield, on the other hand, have been supportive of Southerton.

The lack of police availability around the clock has been the subject of much discussion at borough meetings over the past year, and it is cited as at least part of the reason the warming shelter at Grace Episcopal Church did not open its doors this winter.