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Mayor says borough owes job candidate an explanation after council delays hiring
Summary
Mayor Robert Wolf pressed council to explain why a motion to hire an additional police officer failed, saying the candidate completed testing; several councilors said stormwater repair costs and unexpected expenditures weighed into the decision.
Mayor Robert Wolf said the borough ‘‘owes the candidate an explanation for having him go through all this testing and evaluations’’ after council declined to move forward with hiring an additional full‑time police officer at the July 23 Union City Borough Council meeting. Wolf called the candidate ‘‘a good candidate’’ who will continue testing with a regional consortium.
Councilors discussed financial pressures tied to recent stormwater problems as the primary reason the motion to hire failed, not opposition to the candidate personally. Councilor Melissa Winkler said she was unaware the borough was actively seeking another officer and expressed concern about the costs of recent stormwater repair work. Councilor James Kerns also tied the hiring decision to unexpected stormwater expenses.
The Police Chief provided the June 2024 report during the meeting; no questions were recorded about its contents. Council did not take a formal hiring vote at the meeting. The mayor’s remarks indicate the borough will need to communicate next steps to the candidate, but the minutes do not record a timeline or commitment to revisit hiring.
The mayor’s comments and councilors’ budget concerns were the most substantive discussion on staffing at the meeting. No motion to hire passed, and the minutes record that further discussion would occur later but do not specify when.
