Chief says override rejection would cut 16 police jobs

Town Meeting 2026-05-12 Part 4 · Meeting of May 12, 2026

Abington Police Chief Barney tells Town Meeting an override rejection would cost the department 16 jobs, or 40 percent of staff. Patrol strength would fall from 20 officers to 10, Barney said, as six of seven newly hired officers left for other departments and four more were reassigned to cover mandatory posts including records, evidence and court prosecution. Losing the override would also mean cutting the department's new detective position and pulling both school resource officers back to patrol, he said.

Barney estimated overtime costs of more than $500,000 for open shifts plus roughly $590,599 to cover the front desk, against a current $180,000 overtime budget. He said the department, now fully staffed for the first time in years, saw a 37 percent increase in arrests and 17,000 calls for service in March. "That means there are 10 patrol officers left for the street," Barney said.

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Source: the Town Meeting 2026-05-12 Part 4 meeting of May 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.