Some Weissport Borough Council members are thinking about eliminating the town's one-man, part-time police department.

Council member Sue Pywar said the police department is "costing a lot of money."Gene Kershner, president of the council, added that there is a problem sometimes reaching the officer. He said, "I tried to reach him. The mayor tried to reach him.""We want to do what's best for the town," Pywar said.She said the police department is costing the borough $19,000 a year; money that could be spent on flood levee maintenance or borough building repairs.No action was taken.The matter was brought up by borough resident Lynette Moyer, wife of council member Arland Moyer.Lynette asked the council, "Are you planning on getting rid of our police department or what?"She said she agrees with the police officer working during the day but said, "I agree he should be here some nights.""I don't feel we should get rid of the police department," she said, adding that protection from the state police isn't as reliable as having a local police officer.Mayor Jonathan Troutman said, "I think we need to keep a cop on. We need to have some police presence."Pywar said that finances are tight in the borough. "We do not want to get rid of him. We're looking at all options," she said.She said funds are needed "to fix our buildings."The borough hired Trevor Flexer as a part-time officer in the borough earlier this year. He began his duties on July 22.Before that, the borough had been without a police officer for several months.In October, the council was critical of Flexer for not working enough hours."Either he's going to put more time in or we're going to get somebody else," said council member Arland Moyer at the October meeting.He said at that time, "The car (police cruiser) hasn't been moved in almost a month."Council member Brenda Leiby said in October, "I don't know what to say when people ask if we have a police officer or not."