SHAMOKIN - The solicitor for Watsontown Borough says a potential lawsuit against Northumberland County related to the costs of prisoner transports is still being discussed.
Attorney Ryan Tira said Tuesday that while nothing has been filed in court, the matter has not been put to rest. He offered no further comment.
Watsontown's intentions came to light in January after it sent invitations to Northumberland County municipalities to join a lawsuit against the county. Shamokin accepted the invitation, while Coal Township turned it down. It's not known which other municipalities may have accepted Watsontown's invitation.
Participating municipal parties would equally split legal costs. Constables were also being sought to join the litigation, but would not pay any legal costs.
The threat of legal action came after the county quit its long-standing practice of paying state constables for prisoner transports, saying it lost $104,000 from the transports in 2011.
When the New Year arrived, the burden fell on municipal police departments, several of which in the southeastern portion of the county opposed the move. Those opposed say the new methods chew up officers' time, keeping them on the road or in a courtroom when they could be performing police work, and could also increase overtime.