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Council adopts updated police policies, moves to advertise ordinance change on sergeants’ classification
Summary
Council adopted Resolution 04072025-01 updating police department policies, agreed to advertise an amendment to Chapter 108 for council vote on April 21, and discussed whether the sergeant classification should remain governed by collective bargaining or by borough ordinance.
Bellefonte Borough Council approved an updated set of police-department policies (Resolution 04072025-01) and voted to advertise an amendment to borough ordinance Chapter 108 so council can vote on the ordinance change at its April 21 meeting.
The updated policies were presented as a resolution (04072025-01) and approved by roll-call vote. Council also voted to authorize advertising an amendment to Chapter 108, as requested by Chief Whitmer, so the ordinance language can be considered at the April 21 meeting.
During discussion Chief Whitmer said the borough ordinance and the police collective bargaining agreement treat the sergeant position inconsistently: the borough ordinance lists sergeants as line officers (outside collective bargaining) while the police contract lists sergeants under collective bargaining. The chief asked council to remove the sergeant position from the borough ordinance and retain it in the collective bargaining agreement because having the classification appear in both places creates legal and administrative confusion; he said removing the ordinance language would align with how the department has long administered the classification and that removing the position from the ordinance would likely require arbitration if attempted through contract change.
Council members asked clarifying questions about whether the borough code or the municipal collective-bargaining definitions should prevail and sought to ensure the amendment would not conflict with state law; the chief and council agreed they were referring to borough ordinances and the police collective-bargaining contract specifically. Council voted to advertise the ordinance amendment for a formal vote at the April 21 meeting.
The meeting also included council approval to establish a promotion eligibility list and a separate eligibility list for the police department for 2025; both items were moved and approved by roll-call vote. Those eligibility lists were requested by Chief Whitmer and will be used for future promotional and hiring processes within the police department.
