As of February 2024, the future of the Jenkintown Police Department was uncertain due to financial concerns. As 2026 draws to a close, borough officials say those concerns have been significantly mitigated.
According to borough manager George Locke, the proposed 2027 police operational budget is approximately $200,000 less than the 2025 budget.
“This fiscal efficiency allows the Borough to maintain and enhance all public services while keeping the General Fund’s Real Estate Tax Millage steady for a third consecutive year,” Locke told Glenside Local in an email.
Locke’s email continues:
The Jenkintown Police Department is performing exceptionally well. Furthermore, we have successfully maintained staffing levels in alignment with State and consultant recommendations. The Mayor and Chief of Police have worked diligently to communicate and coordinate all efforts directly with our police officers. The department seems to have transitioned seamlessly to these updated schedules and assignments. This restructuring has opened new avenues within the department, most notably the introduction of a daily staffed Community Response Officer.
Jenkintown Borough Council’s 2025 budget adoption included the elimination of two police positions. The department currently employs seven full-time members: Chief Thomas Scott, Sergeant Albert Sulpizio, and five patrolmen. An eighth is expected to be hired next year to replace a vacated officer’s post.
January 2022 saw the retirement of Chief Albert DiValentino after 30 years of service. Chief Scott took over that April after departing his position as Lieutenant of the Abington Township Police Department.
His initial efforts focused on establishing relationships with the community, including the Jenkintown School District. Four years later, Chief Scott said he believes the department and the borough are on the right track.
“We’re moving in a positive direction. The borough was suffering financially when I came on in 2022. There wasn’t enough to fund capital projects. There needed to be some type of working towards a more sustainable future. That’s been a major issue for us to take on,” he said. “I think we’re in a much better place. We’ve reorganized the department with staffing and our policies and trainings have been improved. We’re investing in the future in terms of potential leadership within the department. We’re doing well.”
Chief Scott credited an improved bottom line with the borough’s willingness to follow the recommendations of third parties. Ron Smeal and Associates and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development conducted a pair of studies in 2020 and 2024, respectively. Those studies provided a staffing analysis and gave the department the recommendation to stay at eight staff members.
“We’re following their plan and their suggestions. That had 90 recommendations to fix. I’d estimate that we’ve made progress on 75% of those items,” Chief Scott said. “Our operating budget is significantly lower than in the past, which means we followed their advice and came up with strategies to use the money responsibly. We want to make sure we’re not overtaxing the residents. We’re still number two in the county. The borough has to deal with a lot, so I don’t want us to be another burden.”
Among other improvements, Officer Cory Murtagh, who had served 12 years with the department as a patrolman, has been appointed the borough’s first and only daily staffed Community Response Officer.
Chief Scott said the new post gives his team more flexibility.
“It’s a jack-of-all-trades officer who’s helping out with investigations, patrol during the day, and evidence custodian responsibilities which is a major responsibility for any department,” he said. “We’re working on training him to become the training coordinator. He’s in charge of virtual reality training, he and I manage the body camera and Fleet camera evidence. Giant has increased our call volume due to retail theft, so he helps as a liaison to them in terms of prosecutions and investigations.
“We were able to send him to Northwestern School of Police Staff & Command, which is a prestigious school. My plan is to send another officer, hopefully next year,” Chief Scott said. “Cory was assigned to the Eastern Regional SWAT Team in early 2023. Getting that knowledge and experience can be used to train our officers in terms of tactics, which makes everyone safer.”
The department’s contract with the borough ends in 2027. Chief Scott and Mayor Gabriel Lerman held a preliminary discussion with the Jenkintown Police Benevolent Association (PBA) last week to start talks about what the contract would look like.
Mayor Lerman said the meeting was “positive, productive, and constructive”, noting that regular meetings are planned going forward “to discuss how things are going, have an open and honest dialogue on changes or issues that are arising, and to look for ways to continually improve as a department.”
“I came away feeling good about the progress that’s been made and that the culture is shifting to a collaborative environment, which is benefitting the officers and the community,” Lerman said in an email. “A lot of this was recognized during the meeting as a credit to Chief Scott and the dynamic he’s established and fostered within the department. It’s also the result of officers who are buying in and that’s important to recognize, too.”
Discussions concerning a new agreement are expected to begin in early 2027.
“The PBA is a bargaining unit that we should have a good relationship with, and that’s what we plan to do,” he said. “We could not have made all of these improvements without the commitment of the officers. Their flexibility and understanding really helped us to achieve our goals. It was a big change to their routines and their established work environment. The open communication regarding issues that arose and the collaboration were essential for our success, and it will be part of that success moving forward.”
In September 2024, the PBA claimed to have cast a unanimous vote of “no confidence” during a union meeting regarding the leadership ability and performance of Chief Scott. Glenside Local’s previous coverage included statements on behalf of the PBA, Chief Scott, and Borough Council president Jay Conners. In October 2024, the PBA sent us a response to a press release issued by president Conners.
In October 2025, Jenkintown Borough released the result of an investigation into allegations of a hostile work environment within the police department and an alleged vote of “no confidence” in Chief Scott. The investigation found no fault with the performance of Chief Scott.
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