Chester council reappoints deputy mayor and city clerk, approves police hires, accreditation consultant, cleanup contract and several grants

The City of Chester Council on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, approved a series of organizational and deliberative resolutions that set committee assignments for the year, reappointed Portia West as deputy mayor and Candice Newsome as city clerk, and authorized several operational contracts and grants, including police appointments and a consultant to pursue law-enforcement accreditation.

The package of formal actions adopted during the organizational and deliberative sessions included the establishment of five standing council committees and the reappointments and contract awards that city leaders said are intended to support public safety, cleanup of persistent illegal-dumping sites and economic-development work tied to a regional sportsplex project.

Why this matters: several of the items—police accreditation work, an ARPA-funded cleanup contract and an Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant—carry multiyear work plans or require additional city resources to realize anticipated benefits, city officials said during the meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Resolution (committee appointments): Council adopted a standing-committee structure for 2025, assigning members and chairs to Public Safety; Budget and Finance; Public Works; Recreation; and Housing and Community Development. The council recorded unanimous support during roll call (Gibson Williams, Green, West, Davis, Mayor Ruth). Outcome: approved.

- Reappointment (deputy mayor): Council reappointed Portia West as deputy mayor to preside when the mayor is absent and to sign acts of the council in the mayor’s temporary absence. Outcome: approved (unanimous roll call recorded).

- Reappointment (city clerk): Council reappointed Candice Newsome as city clerk and Joan Neal as assistant city clerk. Outcome: approved (unanimous roll call recorded).

- Resolution 4 (appointments): Authorized the appointment of two individuals as patrol officers for the City of Chester. Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 5 (appointment): Authorized the appointment of Alicia Stewart Martin to the Chester Housing Authority Board (term to expire Dec. 31, 2028). Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 6 (union memorandum of understanding): Authorized memorandum of understanding language to provide a 3% wage increase for represented employees in 2025 while keeping all other contract terms in effect for the listed unions (Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 19; IAFF Local 1400; Teamsters Local 107). Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 7 (contract award — police accreditation consultant): Authorized award of a law-enforcement accreditation consultant contract to Aspirin Consulting Group, not to exceed $62,500. Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 8 (contract award — Chester Clean Ways, ARPA): Authorized award of the Chester Clean Ways ARPA project to Rattle Maintenance in the amount of $76,834 for targeted cleanup work. Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 9 (grant acceptance — EDA): Authorized acceptance of a United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration "Recompete Strategy Development" grant; council discussion identified the award as $400,000 and noted additional EDA-required attachments would be added to the council package. Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 10 (cooperation agreement — sportsplex / RACP): Authorized entering into a cooperation agreement with Keystone Sports and Entertainment LLC and Union Sport Lehi LLC as required by the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) for the Philadelphia Union Sport Plex project. Outcome: approved.

- Resolution 11 (railroad compliance agreement): Authorized entering into a railroad certification/compliance agreement with Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) for repair of the tracks crossing Highland Avenue as part of the Highland Trail connection between Route 291 and the waterfront trail. Outcome: approved.

Discussion highlights and details

Police accreditation (Resolution 7): Council members and the police chief discussed the decision to hire a consultant to help the Chester Police Department pursue accreditation. Police Chief (unnamed in the transcript) said the consultant will produce a road map for policy, procedure and facility improvements and estimated the accreditation effort could take about three years. The consultant contract is a start-up engagement; the consultant’s fee to begin the work is not to exceed $62,500. The chief said one major expected benefit is lower insurance costs, and the city may become more competitive for certain grants that favor accredited departments. The chief cautioned the accreditation process will require additional investment by the city for facility and operational changes (for example, evidence-room upgrades). Quote: Police Chief: "The…