Mayor, police chief and council back part-time hire to bolster Union City police coverage

Union City borough leaders agreed Aug. 13 to hire a certified candidate as a part-time officer to boost police coverage, citing heavy call volume and recent mental-health and burglary incidents.

Mayor Robert Wolf told council maintaining a borough police department is important and recommended hiring a part-time officer to help coverage. Police Chief David Pernice reviewed recent calls and operations, saying the department handled 269 calls from June 1 to Aug. 13 — "about 3.63 calls per day" — including vehicle pursuits, protection-from-abuse petitions, warrants, domestics, drug activity and homelessness-related calls. Chief Pernice said some incidents can occupy an entire shift and thanked council for agreeing to the hire.

Council moved to hire Kenneth Fye from the certified civil service list as a part-time officer; the motion by Councilor Matt Joyce, seconded by Councilor Osborn, carried unanimously. Borough Manager Cindy Wells told council the budget had allowed at least $33,560 for wages and benefits and that the final fiscal impact will depend on the number of hours the new hire works.

Chief Pernice also reported that he and Officer Shelly attended an Active Shooter/Alert training July 24–25 hosted by Millcreek Police Department and that the UC Community Foundation awarded two grants requested by the department: funding for four tasers and a grant for security cameras to cover an additional section of North Main Street.

Next steps noted in the minutes include onboarding the new officer and scheduling to reflect the department’s needs; council did not record a specific start date or number of hours for the hire. The meeting record shows unanimous approval for the hire and related acknowledgements of department training and grant awards.