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Mayor says borough owes candidate explanation after council declines to hire full‑time officer
Summary
Council discussed a failed motion to hire another full‑time police officer; Mayor Robert Wolf said the borough owes the candidate an explanation and that the candidate will continue testing in a consortium. Councilors cited stormwater repair costs as a factor in pausing a hire.
Union City officials spent part of the July 23 meeting discussing a recent decision not to hire an additional full‑time police officer. Mayor Robert Wolf told council the borough "owes the candidate an explanation for having him go through all this testing and evaluations" and said the candidate would continue testing in the consortium.
Mayor Wolf and the police chief indicated there is both a want and a need for another full‑time officer, but several councilors—most prominently Councilor Melissa Winkler and Councilor James Kerns—said they were concerned about the unanticipated costs tied to stormwater repairs and other expenses. Winkler said she was not aware an additional officer was being pursued and expressed concern about budget impacts; Kerns echoed concern about stormwater costs.
The police chief provided the June 2024 report to the council; no formal hiring motion passed during this meeting and council deferred further decisions. The minutes record that the subject would be discussed later in the meeting and that staff are expected to follow up, but do not list a timeline or a next meeting specifically devoted to the hiring question.
