Nesquehoning police department may soon have a fifth full-time police officer.

Borough Council voted 6-0 to offer the full-time position to officer Richard Neikam, who has been employed as a part-time officer in Nesquehoning since September 2014. Councilman David DeMelfi abstained from the vote.If Neikam accepts the position, he will begin full-time status on April 10. His salary will be based according to the union contract, council said.Councilwoman Rosemary Porembo said that she, representing the personnel and budget committees, met with Mayor Sam Kitchko, Councilman David Hawk and Nesquehoning police Chief Sean Smith earlier this month to see if this addition was possible.Over the past year, the department has been racking up overtime hours due to a lack of staff. Part-time officer Steven Homanko was on unpaid leave since May 2014 for his part in a fatal crash and was terminated Wednesday. Another officer left and wasn't replaced and another officer has been out on extended sick leave.Because of this, the department has been stretched thin, leaving part-timers to work on average 70 or more hours in a pay period, and full-timers clocking additional hours as well.Porembo said the goals of the borough for adding a fifth full-time officer are to help cut down on overtime hours and allow the chief to have a higher percentage of day shifts Monday through Friday so he could handle more of the issues going on during that time.Council said that they feel acting on the position now was the best for everyone because other local police departments are also currently hiring."If we wait too long, we might lose this gentleman to another offer," Hawk said. "Good part-time officers are hard to get and harder to keep."In other police matters, Kitchko reminded residents that they need to be vigilant because there have been reports of juveniles entering abandoned properties along East and West Railroad Street in the borough recently."On March 11, two juveniles were arrested, so hopefully the activity will stop," he said, adding that neighbors should keep an eye out for suspicious activity and report it to police.He also reported that for the month of February, police collected $3,373.73, issued 43 traffic citations, had a total of 470 incidents reported and drove 3,384 miles while on patrol.