The Clarks Summit police fleet is getting some new colors.
Starting this spring, officials will place two 8-by-16-inch advertisements on each of the borough's three marked police vehicles, borough council President Gerrie Carey said.
The advertisements, which cost $1,000 a year, will be placed on the vehicles' rear quarter panels, under the blue "911" lettering. They are expected to generate $6,000 in revenue annually and will help offset the borough's dramatic dip in earned income tax revenue.
"Our main concern is we don't want to raise taxes," Ms. Carey said. "We thought of creative ways to bring in additional revenue instead of putting the burden on taxpayers."
Though no agreements have been finalized, several banks and stores have expressed interest in purchasing the ads, Councilman Herman Johnson said.
Mr. Johnson pitched the idea to council last year after learning of a cash-strapped Massachusetts municipality that implemented it and saw a spike in revenue.
The thousands in additional revenue, he said, will help stave off any tax increase caused, in large put, by the $500,000 dip in earned income tax revenue Clarks Summit received in 2012 compared to 2008 - a result of its growing elderly population.
But while council views the ads as a positive initiative, it also needs to be careful not to overdo them, Mr. Johnson stressed.
"We don't want it to take away from what the car was originally intended for," he said. "You don't want too much advertisement on it because than it would look like a circus vehicle. We want it to look professional."
A longtime policeman who has worked three months in Clarks Summit, Police Chief Joe Laguzzi said he won't mind the new look - especially if it helps Clarks Summit residents in the long run.
Though he hasn't seen a police vehicle stocked with advertisements, Chief Laguzzi said the Carbondale Fire Department implemented a similar advertising initiative.
"As long as they aren't derogatory or promote anything tobacco- or alcohol-related, I am fine with it," he said. "It's a way to generate some revenue. Everyone is in a financial pinch right now, and these ads will help alleviate that."
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