The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved a $2,265,000 capital project request on June 26 to equip the county’s firearms/ballistics laboratory, bringing the facility to operational status, District Attorney Sean McCormick said.

McCormick told commissioners the county previously received a $1.2 million grant to build the facility and that the building shell is complete; the current request covers equipment needed to open and staff the laboratory. “We have the building built. We have the facility built. What we need now is to add equipment, and we'll be ready to hopefully open and begin in September,” McCormick said.

He said using the state lab or out‑of‑state vendors has led to long turnaround times and extra costs for travel and expert witness testimony; having a local lab would allow the office to prioritize county cases and potentially reduce delays to prosecution. McCormick described a 2020 case in Carlisle where he said quicker testing might have prevented a second homicide; commissioners referenced that example while discussing the public‑safety benefits of local testing.

Commissioners also discussed cost offsets: staff said earlier ARPA and other grant funds contributed to the building construction and that the office is seeking additional grants to offset equipment costs. Several commissioners supported the request on public‑safety and regional service grounds; the board approved the capital project by voice vote.

The DA’s office said it has fielded inquiries from other counties and expects the lab may be able to perform testing for neighboring jurisdictions, which could help recover costs over time. Staff said equipment purchases will be capitalized in accordance with county policy and that vendor procurement will follow applicable county contracting rules.