LEWISBURG — Preliminary estimates say it could take up to $2.5 million to launch a regional police force in four Union County municipalities that have been working together since May on a plan to consolidate law enforcement services.

Lewisburg, East Buffalo Township, Mifflinburg and New Berlin are ready to take the next step in their initiative to form a regional force possibly by the end of next year. The municipalities have agreed to start their funding plan based on what each budgets for police now, according to the study committee, which met Wednesday in the Central Keystone Council of Governments office.

The next step, the committee said, is to determine how the funding specifically would work between the municipalities and what type of funding formula would be used after the first year.

Lewisburg budgets $900,000 for its police department; East Buffalo Township allocates $876,000; Mifflinburg budgets $702,000; and New Berlin allocates $41,990 for its part-time police force, according to respective municipal officials.

“We’re operating our jurisdiction under these numbers, so this is how it should work,” said Lewisburg Police Chief Paul Yost, who helped work on the preliminary budget numbers. “Of course, as we go, we will need to tweak the numbers. This is still a good starting point.”

Julianne Finkbiner, a New Berlin councilwoman, said a key concern for her borough is making sure the funding formula is fair since New Berlin likely would have less demand for services than the larger municipalities.

“Everybody is pretty scared about having to pay for all of these things, which is why we’re really working hard on our budget,” Finkbiner said. “Most of the council is for it. We feel like getting in on the ground floor with this is great, because we will have a say in its creation.”

Finkbiner said New Berlin would likely ask for emergency response along with 30 hours of patrols per week, which would include speed enforcement, while the other municipalities have more routine presence from patrols. As a result, New Berlin would prefer to purchase patrol hours rather than be locked into a funding formula, according to Finkbiner.

The committee agreed that an option for patrol hours be included so other municipalities could join into the regional initiative down the road.

In the meantime, the committee said the next step will be determined how many players will be involved with the collaboration.

“We’re getting to the point where we need to have some commitment in terms of participation,” Wagner said. “We need to get hard (budget) numbers so we can move forward.”

According to Wagner, the committee would like to have Mifflinburg’s final decision soon, possibly by next month or December. Mifflinburg hasn’t moved beyond being interested in participating in the study, according to Thomas Sauers, director of the Central Keystone COG, which facilitates the study committee.

“We need to know whether Mifflinburg is in or not,” Lawson Fetterman, an East Buffalo Township supervisor. “That will have a significant impact on the costs.”

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