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Mayor says borough 'owes' police candidate explanation as council cites stormwater costs in hiring decision
Summary
Union City mayor told council the borough owes a candidate an explanation after tests; councilors expressed concern that unexpected stormwater repair costs influenced the decision not to hire another full-time police officer. No hiring motion passed at this meeting.
Mayor Robert Wolf told the council July 23 that the borough should explain to an applicant why a motion to hire an additional police officer failed after the candidate completed testing and evaluations. "We owe the candidate an explanation for having him go through all this testing and evaluations," Wolf said.
Wolf and the police chief had discussed the borough's need for an additional full-time officer, but councilors said budget pressures from recent stormwater issues affected the vote. Councilor Melissa Winkler said she had not been aware the borough was pursuing another officer and expressed concern about the costs associated with stormwater repairs; Councilor James Kerns also cited stormwater costs as a reason the hiring motion did not pass.
Jeremy Sterling of Centerville, who attended the meeting, questioned council about its earlier decision not to hire another officer and was told the matter would be discussed later in the meeting. The police chief provided the June 2024 report during the meeting; the minutes record no formal motion to hire a candidate during this session.
The council later entered an executive session on personnel and contracts after adjourning; minutes record no action taken during that session.
Next steps were not specified in the meeting minutes; the mayor's request that the candidate receive an explanation and any further personnel decisions were not recorded as completed.
