Borough Hires Three Police Officers

The Council chipped away at the manpower issues Tuesday, voting to hire three new officers.

Their decision was split. 

Ralph Amato joined outgoing Council members Cathy Bentz and Maureen O'Brien in supporting a resolution to bring on the additional cops, while Councilman Eric Nazziola voted no.

Nazziola said he was uncomfortable hiring the officers without input from Councilman Michael Rohdieck, the police commissioner. Rohdieck missed the meeting due to an illness.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera expressed concerns about whether the hiring process was inclusive enough.

The Police Department posted the open positions in a newspaper for just one day. Also, the department only sought recruits with no prior experience, excluding laid-off cops and transfers.

LaBarbiera, while acknowledging the department's need for bodies, said the Council shouldn't rush the decision.

"I don't know why, at the 11th hour, this is such a necessity," he said.

Bentz, who moved to hire the officers, said the Borough could change its hiring process when the next round of officers was hired. The department had already selected the three candidates from a pool of 205 resumes, culling most of them before screening and interviewing 16 potential hires.

Bentz said she trusted Chief Christopher Brock's judgement.

"I don't think he would settle for candidates he wasn't satisfied with," she said.

O'Brien echoed the sentiment.

"Let him do his job as the chief," she said. "Hire a couple of guys, which we desperately need. Let's not put this off for a couple of months."

The manpower situation is too dire to ignore, Amato added. 

The Police Department's last hires before Tuesday were in 2009. Numbers at the department are as .

Brock this year due to lack of manpower.

Brock said the reason the Police Department didn't look for transfers or laid-off officers was to keep the number of applications manageable. He said the department might have received 600 to 1,000 applications if the process were more inclusive.

That volume would require an entirely new vetting process, including written and physical tests, Brock said. He estimated the cost of such a process could exceed $100,000.