The proposed budget that Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald presents to county council in a few weeks will contain a line item for park rangers, Mr. Fitzgerald said Monday.
Mr. Fitzgerald said he would like to substitute park rangers for the nearly 50 county police officers who currently patrol county parks, a change he said would use county resources more efficiently.
“We feel that they are being underutilized” in the parks, said Mr. Fitzgerald of the county police. He said he believes officers could be better used by deploying them to parts of the county experiencing crime, including drug activity and homicides.
“I've been getting requests from different communities that want to see some help,” he said.
Mr. Fitzgerald was clear: He is not proposing any layoffs.
“The county police do a terrific job,” he said.
County police still may be dispatched to a park if there are large events happening, but he said he wanted to use the police more efficiently. The cost to the county per police officer is about $100,000 a year, he said.
According to the county budget, the parks division of the county police, which has 45 funded positions, costs the county about $5.3 million.
The county still is discussing details regarding timing, and also exactly what a park ranger position would entail. Mr. Fitzgerald said he would like to see rangers be involved in enhancing programming in the parks.
As for what their authority would be in regard to security, he said that also still is being discussed. He said he envisioned something similar to the role of the rangers who work in Point State Park.
The number of rangers hired by the county could range from “just a handful” to about 20, he said. The “rough” estimate of what the cost would be to the county is $500,000 to $1 million annually.
Henry Wiehagen, a retired North Braddock police chief who is president of the Allegheny County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 91, said Monday he thinks Mr. Fitzgerald's plan is a bad idea, saying he is worried about response time if an incident requiring police occurs in the park.
"It's a safety issue for the citizens of Allegheny County," he said.
Correction, posted Aug. 26: This story has been updated to provide the correct job title for Henry Wiehagen.
First Published: August 26, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
