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Council debates hiring another full-time police officer amid stormwater cost concerns
Summary
Councilors discussed a candidate for a full-time police officer at the July 23 meeting, with the mayor urging an explanation for a failed hire and several councilors saying recent and pending stormwater repair costs affected the decision; no hiring motion passed and the issue remains unresolved.
Union City Borough Council debated the prospect of hiring an additional full-time police officer at its July 23 meeting but did not take formal action.
During the hearing of visitors, Jeremy Sterling of Centerville asked council to explain the decision not to hire another officer. Mayor Robert Wolf said the borough owed a candidate an explanation after the individual completed testing and evaluations and that "he is a good candidate" who will be testing in the consortium. Wolf and the chief discussed both the want and need for another full-time officer.
Several councilors, including Melissa Winkler and James Kerns, said they were unaware of the hiring effort or said the motion failed because of concerns about unanticipated stormwater repair costs rather than concerns about the candidate. The minutes record that council agreed the hiring discussion was influenced by pending stormwater issues and expected expenses.
The chief provided the June 2024 police report; there were no additional questions recorded. Council deferred further discussion on hiring and did not approve an additional officer during this meeting. The record does not list a motion to hire or a formal vote on that specific personnel hiring at this session.
Next steps were not specified in the minutes beyond a note that the personnel matter would be discussed; a subsequent executive session covered personnel and contracts but the minutes state no action was taken.
