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Council ratifies updated civil service commission rules, removes 20-mile residency requirement
Summary
Council ratified revised Civil Service Commission rules and regulations that remove a prior residency requirement; council members said the changes align hiring rules with current academy practices and broaden candidate pools.
Columbia Borough Council on May 27 ratified an updated version of the Civil Service Commission’s rules and regulations, including removal of a prior 20-mile residency preference.
Council members said the Civil Service Commission updated physical-agility and other requirements to match current police-academy standards and to modernize outdated language. A council member said the commission concluded many municipalities have removed strict local-residency requirements to expand applicant pools, and the updated rules replace the borough’s 20-mile residency requirement with no residency restriction.
Council person Brigard moved to ratify the Civil Service Commission rules and regulations; Council person Stall seconded the motion and the council approved the ratification by voice vote. A staff member confirmed borough code requires council approval for the commission’s rules and that a separate resolution was not required.
Council members commended the commission’s volunteer members for the work on the update and said the change is intended to attract more applicants for police vacancies while preserving municipal hiring standards.
