Council approves first reading of ordinance adding automatic disqualifiers to civil service hiring rules

At the June 16 meeting, the Emmaus Borough Council approved on roll call the ordinance numbered 12-79, which repeals certain civil service rules and adds provisions allowing automatic disqualifiers in police hiring and permitting consortium oral boards as an option.

Borough Manager Shane explained the changes, saying the borough’s civil service rules are lengthy and costly to administer. He said the ordinance establishes roughly two dozen automatic disqualifying criteria so the borough can remove clearly ineligible applicants earlier in the process and avoid completing full backgrounds and polygraph examinations for those candidates.

“Your civil service ordinance is your service veil service ordinance is, like, 50 pages,” Shane said, and described the cost of background steps the borough would avoid. He said the polygraph portion of a full background costs about $700 for the initial test and that a deceptive result can trigger an additional roughly $500 follow-up.

Shane also said the ordinance gives the borough the option—if it opts into a hiring consortium—to include the consortium’s oral board examination in the process rather than requiring the borough to run an oral board separately.

Council members discussed the changes and said they expected the provisions to speed hiring and reduce legal exposure and costs that arise when the borough must carry candidates through the full process only to later disqualify them. The ordinance was recommended by the general administration committee on a 3–0 vote.

Council approved the ordinance on its vote tonight but did not adopt it; Shane said the second reading will be at the July council meeting.