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Council delays hiring decision for full‑time police officer as stormwater costs weigh on vote
Summary
Councilors discussed a candidate for a full‑time police officer on July 23 but did not proceed with hiring. Mayor Robert Wolf said the borough owes the candidate an explanation; some councilors cited unexpected stormwater repair costs as the primary reason for pausing the hire.
Union City Borough Council discussed a candidate for a full‑time police officer at its July 23 meeting but did not move forward with hiring, citing budget uncertainty tied to recent stormwater repair needs.
Mayor Robert Wolf said the borough "owes the candidate an explanation for having him go through all this testing and evaluations. He is a good candidate and will be testing in the consortium," according to the meeting record. The mayor and the police chief described both a desire and a need for another full‑time officer.
However, several councilors said they had concerns about the borough’s fiscal capacity after recent stormwater and sinkhole issues. Councilor Melissa Winkler said she was not aware the borough was looking to hire another officer and expressed concern about the costs associated with stormwater problems; Councilor James Kerns agreed that those costs were a factor affecting the timing of any hire.
Public comment earlier in the meeting included a question from Jeremy Sterling (Centerville) asking council to explain why the decision not to hire had been made and what the next steps would be; council told him the matter would be discussed later in the meeting. No formal motion to hire was approved at this meeting.
The record indicates the discussion will continue; council later entered an executive session to discuss personnel and contracts, and the meeting adjourned at 6:38 p.m.
