Phoenixville council reappoints three to rec board, authorizes police hiring steps and testing budget increase

At the April 14 meeting the Borough Council reappointed Janet Hunter and Allison Pfeiffle to the recreation board for terms expiring April 30, 2030, and appointed Emily Yatrin to fill a vacant seat with a term expiring April 30, 2028. The motions to reappoint and appoint were made and seconded during the appointments portion of the agenda and each motion carried by roll call (8–0).

Council also took multiple personnel actions in public safety. Miss Berkley moved to authorize a conditional offer of employment for patrol officer Brian Seymour, pending Act 120 certification and satisfactory medical and psychological testing; the motion was seconded and approved (8–0). Separately, the civil service process was addressed: Miss Berkley moved (and council approved) to authorize the civil service commission to begin the process of developing a current eligibility list for patrol officers and to approve a budget increase of $13,000 to cover testing, interviews and background checks. The motion’s rationale: recent retirements and the exhaustion of the current eligibility list mean the borough needs an updated list to remain competitive and to fill anticipated vacancies.

Council and staff said the borough will follow the civil service testing schedule and that staff will provide details on next steps to applicants and to council. For the recreation board appointments, staff said they will follow up with the newly appointed members about orientation and meeting schedules.

Why it matters: The moves replenish volunteer oversight of parks and recreation programming and sustain public‑safety staffing levels through both an immediate conditional offer and by restarting the civil service testing and eligibility process.