Committee debates chief standards
By PAT FRIDGEN Echo Pilot

The Public Safety Committee is wondering if the requirements for Chief of Police are too stringent. With just three returned applications, the committee pondered last week if a college degree or residency in the borough was holding people back.

The ads in local newspapers and in state municipal periodicals, as well as online, specify that the applicant hold a B.S. in Police Administration or related field, or has attended the FBI Academy. It also requires the person hired to live in the borough of Greencastle within six months.

Paul Schemel suggested recommending to council that a B.S. was not required.

"Requiring a degree excludes good people," agreed Gerald Pool. "The best of all worlds is a degree and experience, but that is not always possible."

Mayor Robert Eberly was concerned with how to shift standards mid-stream. If some applications were not returned because of the education prerequisite, but the borough then changed the requirements, they could have missed out on more names to consider.

Residency is not part of any ordinance, but the committee realized they had set precedence by not allowing former chief Peter Mozurkevich to live outside the borough, though he had specifically asked.

The consensus of the members was that living in Greencastle was the ideal.

"The residents will care," said Harry Foley.

Eberly added, "The issue is being part of the community."

He felt living in the Greencastle Antrim school district was a reasonable compromise if the new chief did not want to live in the borough.

Schemel and Eberly decided to figure out a way to contact all who received the application packets and encourage them to apply. They will try to find out what was holding the interested parties back, without giving them false hope of getting hired.