SARP Costs up 16% for the Three Towns

Stroud Area Regional Police (SARP) wants a 12 percent bigger budget next year, and the three towns that fund it would pay 16 percent more. The draft 2027 budget is about $13.1 million, up from about $11.7 million in 2026. The towns’ combined bill would rise from about $10.4 million to $12.0 million. It rises faster than the overall budget because a one-time $350,000 carryover that helped cover this year’s bill shrinks to $50,000.

What’s driving the increase? The biggest culprit is health insurance, up about $500,000 on an assumed 15 percent renewal increase. That, combined with contractual raises of about $500,000, accounts for about 70 percent of the department’s budget increase. The department’s presentation says there is “no where else to cut.”

Is the split fair? Stroud Township covers about 48 percent of the cost, East Stroudsburg 31 percent and Stroudsburg 20 percent, per documents East Stroudsburg posted for its Oct. 20 council meeting.

By workload, East Stroudsburg looks about even: it pays 31 percent and accounts for about 31 percent of calls for service and 34 percent of September’s cases. Stroud Township pays about 48 percent for about 39 percent of calls and 37 percent of cases. Stroudsburg pays about 20 percent for about 30 percent of calls and 29 percent of cases. That suggests Stroud Township pays more than its workload share and Stroudsburg less, but the shares may weigh other factors, such as population or property values. Calls and cases are not crimes, and the case figures cover September only.

What it means for East Stroudsburg. Its council is working through its 2027 budget in public, which is where these numbers surfaced. The borough’s share, about $3.8 million, is up 16 percent and is more than the $3.0 million its general fund property tax raised in 2026. By our math, it equals about 94 percent of all the property tax the borough collects. The draft budget would raise the tax rate from about 9.0 to 10.3 mills, or $1.30 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is $130 a year on a $100,000 assessment. The adoption hearing is Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 24 Analomink St. Note: numbers may vary slightly due to rounding.