Jan 14, 2026 By Jon Andreassi 3 min read

The communities of McDonald and Mt. Pleasant Township will take the next step in merging their police departments next week, though the unified agency is likely still months away from operating.

The Northern Washington County Police Department Commission will hold its first meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 20 at 31 McCarrell Road, Mt. Pleasant Township.

The commission comprises Mt. Pleasant Township Supervisors Shane Maga and William Nimal, McDonald Mayor David Cooper and McDonald council member Mike Bish.

Both municipalities approved a charter to form the regional police department in October. Elected officials in Midway and Robinson Township rejected the charter.

According to Maga, the agenda for next week’s meeting is still being worked out, but it will mainly be an organization meeting. Maga said they will decide who will be the chair of the commission, and discuss a potential solicitor.

“This is at the very beginning stages,” Maga said.

Matthew Tharp, chief of police in Mt. Pleasant, said there are several steps to take before the department can form. Chief among them is a collective bargaining agreement that will determine the wages for the new agency’s 12 full-time and five part-time officers.

“We can’t really have an ironclad budget without that number,” Tharp said.

When the departments merge, Mt. Pleasant’s current building at 108 Main St. will be the “headquarters,” according to Tharp. McDonald’s building at 151 School St. will be a substation.

Currently, McDonald provides police coverage to Midway, and Mt. Pleasant provides coverage to Robinson Township. Tharp has previously indicated the regional department would continue to honor these contracts.

According to Tharp, there is no strict timeline for the departments to merge.

“We’re trying to not have any lapse of coverage for any of these communities. We’re dissolving two existing departments to create one new one. So we want to make sure it’s by the numbers. We hope it’s this year,” Tharp said.

When the Northern Washington County Police Department is in operation, Tharp will be its chief and Timothy Motte will be lieutenant. Motte is the current chief of McDonald’s police department.

Motte said combining resources with Mt. Pleasant will help with hiring and retaining police officers.

“For departments like McDonald, it’s impossible for us to stay competitive in this new world of policing as far as salary and benefits go,” Motte said.

Motte added that his department is a “revolving door” of new hires.

“New officers come in, get their feet wet, then they’re going to move on to something bigger and better. You’re constantly training people,” Motte said.

According to Motte, having a combined department will also help secure more grant funding from the state.

Following next week’s meeting, the commission will continue to meet at 6 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month. The meetings will rotate between Mt. Pleasant Township and 151 School St., McDonald.