Why so many residents of Saxonburg haven't gotten the message to call the Butler County Communications (911) Center to contact the police is puzzling.

The fact is they have only themselves to blame for the frustration they endure while waiting for police to arrive, when it might be hours before officers even learn that they've called.

At a borough council meeting last week, Mayor Brian Antoszyk said officers, when they return to the department after a patrol, often find numerous messages on the non-emergency line's voice mail.

"We get very few 911 calls," Antoszyk said, referring to the number of calls originating in the borough that are made to the 911 center.

With the task of filling out end-of-shift reports and possibly discussing occurrences on their shift with officers coming on duty, it's no surprise that some minor calls are not answered immediately upon officers learning of them.

If Saxonburg were a large enough community to have an around-the-clock desk sergeant or dispatcher at police headquarters, the persistence at trying to reach police via the headquarters number would be understandable. But anyone who has lived in the borough for any significant length of time knows that the borough doesn't have the revenue for what some people might regard as a luxury.

Perhaps some people feel intimidated about the idea of calling 911, if someone's life isn't hanging in the balance. But they shouldn't feel intimidated.

In fact, Saxonburg residents' tax dollars are helping to pay for the operation of the 911 center. Therefore, people of Saxonburg have as much right to make use of the center's service as people in any other county community.

If they refuse to do so, they shouldn't complain about slow response to their calls.

Saxonburg isn't a den of crime; it's a pleasant community that its residents feel fortunate to live in. Nevertheless, a police officer sometimes is needed, and residents have a right to expect help when requested.

But residents do have to follow the proper procedure to ensure that they receive that help.

The answer is 911.

"We have a great group of people in Saxonburg who don't know how to use the 911 system," the mayor said. Perhaps the borough, as a community service, should send out a memo to all residences reminding the occupants about the importance of calling 911 — and when to call and when not to call the county center.

Perhaps a borough business or several businesses could offer to sponsor the memo and allow for the borough to avoid using tax revenue for the correspondence.

Antoszyk and other borough council members shouldn't allow theirs and police officers' frustration over the current situation to fester.