Council approves employment agreement for police chief Holly Arnott after narrow 4–3 vote

Columbia Borough Council approved an employment agreement for incoming police chief Holly Arnott after a contentious debate over contract language and civil-service protections.

Council President Kaufman said staff circulated a final draft the day before the meeting and that the document “looked similar” to past agreements; he urged the council to fill the chief position so police leadership would be in place. Several members said the labor attorney’s written comments were not incorporated into the version distributed to council the previous day.

At the heart of the disagreement was whether the agreement mixed “at-will” employment language with protections more typical of civil-service personnel. One council member who opposed the contract said the draft contained a direct contradiction: “You can’t have both language in the contract,” the member said, arguing the document must be either at-will or provide civil-service protections—“it can’t do both.”

Councilman Jenkins, who said he believes Arnott is the right person for the job, nonetheless told colleagues he could not, “in good conscience, vote yes on a contract that I do not feel is in the best interest of the borough,” citing omitted attorney language. Another councilor who had reviewed the agreement said he saw no legal problem and urged approval so the chief could begin work.

A motion to table the agreement failed. A subsequent motion to approve the employment agreement, moved by Councilperson Giese and seconded by Councilperson Ziegler, was carried in a roll-call vote: President Kaufman, Giese, Murphy and Ziegler voted yes; Byers, Cooper and Zink voted no. The motion passed 4–3.

Council members noted that the chief could continue working while administrative clarifications were finalized and that any future changes—such as an employee-education reimbursement discussed in the draft—would require separate policy or approval. Staff said the borough would prepare any necessary follow-up language and that council would need to adopt a clear policy if it decides to offer tuition support for employees pursuing further degrees.

The council did not adopt additional contract language at the meeting. The council president said staff furnished the council with the information necessary for the decision and will follow up on the attorney’s concerns.

Next procedural steps: the employment agreement passed and will be entered into the borough’s administrative files; staff said they will circulate any subsequent, attorney-approved edits to council.