Lackawanna County has agreed to help pay for police officers at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport for the first time.
A joint announcement Wednesday by Lackawanna and Luzerne counties says the airport will pick up half the cost with the counties splitting the rest.
The counties agreed to the move, even though the airport’s top officials said last month they don’t think it’s necessary to have police at the airport. The airport has a full-time security staff and Transportation Security Administration staff, though neither staff has arrest powers as police do.
The two-year agreement calls for staffing the airport seven days a week and 365 days a year with officers from surrounding municipalities between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m.
In a recent email, airport finance director Chris Dalessandro estimated the program would cost about $120,000 this year. The cost estimate under the new agreement was not immediately available.
The federal government used to pay substantially for the police presence, but that funding disappeared in May 2024 and Luzerne began picking up the federal end. Lackawanna declined to contribute, citing financial deficits.
In the joint announcement, Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo and the County Council thank Lackawanna County commissioners Chris Chermak and Brenda Sacco for agreeing to have Lackawanna contribute.
The agreement “ensures the safety of all travelers and the surrounding public,” the announcement says.
The airport sits mostly in Luzerne County, but a sliver stretches into Lackawanna. Officials from both sit on a six-member board that governs the airport.
With Commissioner-elect Thom Welby expected to replace Sacco soon, the announcement says, “Crocamo and council are also looking forward to working with ... Welby to continue this agreement so that the airport remains secure for the immediate future.”
The announcement makes no mention of Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan, who vocally questioned the need for a police presence at an airport board meeting last month.
Gaughan said TSA agents and the airport security officers lack arrest powers but can detain anyone causing trouble until local police arrive. The airport spends more than $500,000 a year on its own armed security force, he said.
"It's nice to have, but we don't need to have it. So why would I ever agree to pay for something that that the people who actually run the airport are telling me that we don't need again?" he said.
During the meeting, airport executive director Carl Beardsley Jr. and assistant airport executive director B.J. Teichman said the extra police aren’t necessary. Airport security director Mark Bailer said having cops present isn’t required by law. Teichman produced an six-month analysis that showed the airport had no police officers present for at least six days a month and at least 24 days with officers present only eight hours a day.
Crocamo accused Gaughan of “grandstanding” and acting “bush league.”
Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce, whose office administers the police presence, defended it. He said large airports have police and called not having them at the local airport “the definition of defunding the police.”
